A family member of a Syrian citizen who was tortured and killed, and had his body mutilated, in Syria allegedly by the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which has been fighting in the country’s civil war since late 2015, has filed a criminal complaint in Moscow. The lawsuit filed on Thursday by the victim’s brother was first announced on Monday by three NGOs who have facilitated the action: the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM); the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); and Memorial Human Rights Center.
It is the “first-ever attempt by the family of a Syrian victim to hold Russian suspects accountable for serious crimes committed in Syria,” the groups said in a statement. The complaint calls for the implementation of criminal proceedings on the basis of murder committed “with extreme cruelty, with a view to establishing the alleged perpetrators’ responsibility for this and other crimes, including war crimes.”
The NGOs said in a statement that they can provide evidence that clearly establishes the identity of one of the defendants and his involvement with Wagner.
Russian law obligates the state to investigate crimes committed by Russian citizens abroad, according to the NGOs.
Wagner, described as a private military company, is made up of mostly Russian nationals, which has participated in regional conflicts around the world. It is believed to be trained at Russian military bases and to be a Russian shadow military unit.
Russia has been involved on the ground in the decade-long Syrian civil war for at least the last five years, according to reports.