The case represents the first time anyone has tried to hold any member of the Wagner group responsible for its activities around the world.
Wagner’s activities in Syria have been further highlighted after Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta published an investigation in 2019 into the group’s alleged involvement of mercenaries in the gruesome murder of a Syrian man described as’ a droster from the Syrian army.
In June 2017, a two-minute clip appeared online showing several Russian-speaking men wearing military uniforms brutally beating an unarmed man.
Two years later, Novaya Gazeta obtained additional footage claiming to show what happened to the man after he was beaten: he was further tortured and beheaded, his body mutilated and set on fire.
The newspaper also claims that he identified the man, Syrian Mohammed A., as well as one of the perpetrators, a Russian man, as a suspected member of the private Wagner military company. The killing took place in northern Syria near the al-Shaer gas facility, Novaya Gazeta said at the time.
Novaya Gazeta has asked Russia’s most important investigative body, the investigative committee, to investigate the findings, but the claim is rejected.
The new case, initiated by the brother of the murdered man, was lodged with the Russian authorities last week by three groups: the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Memorial Human Rights Center in Russia.
Shortly after the Novaya Gazeta report appeared, the victim’s brother contacted the Syrian SCM group, who identified his family member in one of the videos and that he was prepared to seek justice for the brutal death of his brother.
“So far, no court has investigated Russia’s responsibility for direct military intervention and allowed the Wagner group to use it,” the Memorial Human Rights Center said in a statement.
‘This is the first claim a Syrian victim has made with the support of human rights NGOs [non-governmental organizations] to Russian authorities in an unprecedented effort to overcome impunity and bring Russian suspects to justice. ‘
According to his brother, Mohammed A. returned from Lebanon to Syria in March 2017 where he worked as a construction worker, the NGOs said. On his return, Mohammed was arrested by the Syrian army and taken to a conscription service near Damascus. In their last telephone conversation, Mohammed told his brother that he intended to resign from the army and was never heard from again.
The plaintiffs are asking the Russian investigative committee to investigate charges of ‘murder committed with extreme brutality by a group of persons’. The committee has so far not commented on the request. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday he was aware of media reports on the matter, but referred the question to the inquiry committee.
The commission of inquiry did not respond to a request for comment from CNN.
Private military companies are illegal under Russian law, but Wagner is playing an increasingly prominent role in advancing Russia’s foreign policy objectives abroad.
“There is a chain of conflicts where often the same [Russia-linked] actors are involved, but they are never prosecuted, “Memorial chairman Alexander Cherkasov told CNN. Since there are no investigations and no punishments, we get this chain of impunity, which has been pulling throughout Russian history since at least the Chechen wars. “
Russian open-source intelligence groups, such as the Conflict Intelligence Team, which has been investigating Wagner’s activities for years, told CNN earlier that the unit’s ambiguous legal status allows Russia to enjoy credible denial when it comes to reporting on the number of soldiers in the Syrian conflict has been lost as well as avoiding international responsibility.
In 2019, Putin acknowledged the presence of Russian mercenaries in Syria, but denied that they were in any way supported by the government, adding that they were solving ‘economic issues’ such as exploring or recapturing oil fields.
“These people are endangering their lives, and it is also a contribution to fighting terrorism … but it is not the Russian state, not the Russian army,” he said.
CNN and other stores reported that Prigozhin-affiliated companies obtained lucrative deals in countries where Wagner was deployed, such as protecting and exploring oil and gas fields in Syria or obtaining permits to mine diamonds and other precious minerals in Africa .