London, Sep 6: The UK government will table a draft proscription order in the House of Commons on Wednesday which will impose a ban on Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation.
The proscription order will make it illegal to be a member of or support the Russian group in the UK, the Home Office said.
Certain offences related to banned terror organisations can result in 14 years imprisonment in the country.
As part of the Home Office draft order, Wagner’s assets can also be categorised as terrorist property and seized.
“Wagner is a violent and destructive organisation which has acted as a military tool of [President] Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas,” said UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
“While Putin’s regime decides what to do with the monster it created, Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals. They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law,” Home Secretary Braverman said.
The Indian-origin Home Secretary claimed that Wagner has been involved in “looting, torture and barbarous murders”.
“Its operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa are a threat to global security. That is why we are proscribing this terrorist organisation and continuing to aid Ukraine wherever we can in its fight against Russia,” she added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously called for the Wagner Group to be treated as a terrorist organisation. (PTI)
