UK to label Russia's Wagner a terrorist group: reports

The UK is set to proscribe Russia's mercenary Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, according to British media reports.

This means it would be a criminal offense to belong to the group or to support it under UK laws.

Draft measures to ban the Wagner Group under the Terrorism Act 2000 are expected to be put forward in Parliament on Wednesday, the reports said.

'Violent and destructive organization'

"Wagner has been involved in looting, torture and barbarous murders," the Daily Mail newspaper quoted Home Secretary Suella Braverman as saying.

"Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin's Russia overseas."

"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." 

Blacklisting Wagner under anti-terror laws would put the mercenary force on the terror list with al-Qaida and the so-called "Islamic State."

Under the Terrorism Act, the home secretary has the power to ban an organization if they are involved in terrorism.

"They are terrorists, plain and simple — and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law," Braverman was quoted by the BBC as saying.

"The group's operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa are a threat to global security," the minister added.

In July, the UK announced sanctions against 13 individuals and businesses it said had links to Wagner in Africa, accusing it of committing crimes, including killings and torture.

The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died last month after his private plane crashed at a site northwest of Moscow.

His death came two months after he led Wagner fighters in a short-lived mutiny against Russian defense forces and Putin's inner circle.

rm/nm (AFP, Reuters, DW sources)