The UK government has taken a significant step by introducing a draft order in Parliament to proscribe the Russian mercenary group Wagner as a terrorist organisation. This move will make it illegal to be a member of or support the group and allows for the seizure of its assets.
The decision to classify Wagner as a terrorist organisation was announced by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who described the group as “violent and destructive” and a “military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.” She emphasised that Wagner’s activities in Ukraine and Africa posed a “threat to global security” and served the political goals of the Kremlin.
Braverman unequivocally stated, “They are terrorists, plain and simple, and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law.”
Wagner has played a significant role in various conflict zones, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and operations in Syria and African countries like Libya and Mali. The group has faced numerous accusations of heinous crimes, including the killing and torture of Ukrainian citizens.
In 2020, the United States accused Wagner soldiers of planting landmines around Libya’s capital, Tripoli. Furthermore, in July of this year, the UK asserted that the group had carried out “executions and torture in Mali and the Central African Republic.”
The group’s future was thrust into uncertainty earlier this year when its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led a failed mutiny against Russia’s military leaders. Tragically, Prigozhin and several other Wagner figures died in a suspicious plane crash on August 23, with the leader subsequently being buried in St Petersburg.
The UK government’s decision to proscribe Wagner places the group’s name alongside other proscribed organisations such as Hamas and Boko Haram. The Terrorism Act 2000 grants the home secretary the authority to proscribe an organisation if it is believed to be connected to terrorism.
The proscription order will criminalise support for the group, encompassing activities such as arranging meetings aimed at furthering the organisation’s objectives, expressing support for its aims, or displaying its flag or logo. Committing a proscription offence could result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years or a fine of up to £5,000.
Pressure had been mounting on the UK government to proscribe Wagner, with calls from MPs and the public to take action against the group responsible for a series of atrocities worldwide.
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, welcomed the draft order and urged the government to pursue a Special Tribunal to prosecute Putin for his “crime of aggression.” The Foreign Office had previously imposed sanctions on the group, including freezing the assets of Prigozhin and top commanders.
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Conservative MP Alicia Kearns had been a vocal advocate for proscribing Wagner, stating that sanctions alone were insufficient. Kearns’s committee produced a report criticising the government’s “dismal lack of understanding of Wagner’s hold beyond Europe.”
While Wagner has faced internal challenges and leadership losses, the legal proscription will hinder the group’s financial activities and potentially open avenues for legal action against it.
