07 September 2024. On Wednesday, The UK announced to ban the Russian mercenary group known as Wagner and label it as a terrorist organization as it causes discomfort to global security even after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s alleged assassination who was the leader of the mercenary group.
Its assets may be designated as terrorist assets and confiscated under a draft order that will be submitted to Parliament.
The Home Secretary of United Kingdom, Suella Braverman, referred Wagner as violent, destructive and a military tool for the Russian president Vladimir Putin. She also mentioned its work in Africa and recently in Ukraine and acknowledged it as global threat.
The decision, which is anticipated to go into effect soon, places Wagner in a similar category with the Islamic State, the Palestinian extremist organisation Hamas, and paramilitaries from Northern Ireland. The home secretary has the authority to outlaw a group if they think it encourages terrorism, based on Terrorism Act 2000.
Before the law, terrorism-related organisation could only be proscribed in Northern Ireland. The proscription order will make it illegal to support the group, including by holding meetings to advance its activities, demonstrating endorsement of its goals, or displaying its flag or displaying its logo.
A proscription violation has a penalty of up to $5,000 in fines or 14 years in jail. MPs had been pressuring the government for a while to outlaw the group.
However, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, stated in July that sanctions alone are insufficient and the UK must declare the Wagner group to be a terrorist organisation.
Ukraine Pleaded to Declare Wagner as a Terrorist Organization
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, the Wagner mercenary outfit was deployed. The group, which until recently served as the backbone of the Russian advance, recruited thousands of prisoners from Russian prisons to fight for Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city, on the front lines by December.
Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has previously demanded that Wagner be punished like a terrorist group.
Several allies of the Ukrainian government have imposed sanctions on Wagner’s leaders, and few months ago, the parliaments of Lithuania and Estonia passed resolutions designating Wagner as a terrorist group. The Wagner Group has been classified as a transnational criminal organisation by the US.
Apart from working in Syria and nations in Africa like Libya and Mali, Wagner has a significant role to play in Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. Its soldiers allegedly have been committed several crimes, such as torturing and murdering Ukrainian people.
Wagner’s Uncertain Future After the Death of Prigozhin
The US claimed in 2020 that soldiers from Wagner had set up landmines near Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Prigozhin attempted a failed rebellion against Russia’s military regime earlier this year, casting doubt on the group’s future.
Alongside with other Wagner figures, Prigozhin, who created the organisation in 2014, died in a strange plane crash on August 23 and was buried in St. Petersburg. Vladimir Putin was accused of Prigozhin’s assassination, however, he denied all the accusations.
The accident that killed Prigozhin happened precisely couple months after he launched a brief armed uprising against the military leadership of Russia, posing the strongest challenge to Mr. Putin’s sovereignty in his 23-year rule.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, said the existence of Wagner wasn’t from a legitimate point of view.
