Suella Braverman
Home Secretary Suella Braverman stated on Tuesday that the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit, will be designated a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.
The Wagner Group was poised to be proscribed under anti-terror laws in the United Kingdom, putting it on a par with Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
“Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas”, Braverman stated.
“While Putin’s regime decides what to do with the monster it created, Wagner’s continuing destabilizing activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals”, Braverman added.
The Home Secretary has the authority to proscribe an organization under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if he believes it is implicated in terrorism.
Supporting the organization becomes a crime under a proscription order.
“They are terrorists, plain and simple — and this prescription order makes that clear in UK law”, the minister continued.
Braverman went on to say, “Wagner has been involved in looting, torture, and barbarous murders”.
She described the group’s operations in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa as a threat to global security.
“That is why we are proscribing this terrorist organization and continuing to aid Ukraine wherever we can in its fight against Russia”, Braverman added.
On Wednesday, drafted legislation to prohibit the Wagner Group under the act will be introduced in Parliament.
In July, Britain imposed sanctions against 13 persons and businesses it alleged had ties to the Russian group in Africa, accusing it of crimes such as murder and torture.
The people and entities targeted were allegedly involved in Wagner’s activities in Mali, Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan, and are no longer permitted to deal with UK citizens, corporations, or banks, and have any UK assets frozen.
They included Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov, the alleged leader of Wagner in Mali; Vitalii Viktorovitch Perfilev, the group’s chief in CAR; and Konstantin Aleksandrovitch Pikalov, the group’s operations head there in CAR.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died last month in an aircraft crash last month, was previously sanctioned by Britain, as were several of his top commanders who had taken part in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
Prigozhin, a Kremlin confidant turned traitor, died just two months after directing his forces to overthrow Russia’s military leadership.
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