Media: Two Belarusians Are Among Wagner Fighters Who Killed Unarmed Syrian With Sledgehammer Six Years Ago

Here's what's known.

The names of a group of Wagner PMC mercenaries who were allegedly involved in the torture and execution of an unarmed Syrian man with a sledgehammer in 2017 have become known. Two Belarusian nationals are among them, the Dossier investigative centre reports.

The Dossier Centre, together with Die Welt, Insider, Paris Match and Arte, have identified the mercenaries involved in the torture and killing in Syria, thanks to the leak of internal investigation documents belonging to the Wagner PMC.

A video of the torture and brutal murder surfaced online on June 30, 2017. The victim is the Syrian national El-Ismail, also known as Mohammed Taha Ismail Al-Abdullah. He was reportedly mobilised into the Syrian army, deserted, but was caught by Wagner PMC fighters. In the video, his limbs are crushed with a sledgehammer, his head is cut off and his body is dismembered and burned. The men executing the Syrian did not hide their faces.

Novaya Gazeta, which wrote about the murder in 2019, was able to establish the name of one of the alleged participants in the murder - former Russian Interior Ministry officer Stanislav Dychko. The Dossier Centre, based on documents on the activities of the Wagner PMC obtained by anonymous hackers, has found the names and call signs of nine more people.

It is reported that the execution involved fighters from the 4th assault squad, led by the squad leader, as well as several members of the reconnaissance platoon. Some of them are already dead, the fate of several others is unknown, but the rest are still in the ranks of the Wagner PMC.

"A motley crowd has gathered. Two former employees of the Interior Ministry, a petty criminal, Cossack monarchist and assistant deputy from the Communist Party, are among the accomplices," the Dossier describes the mercenaries.

Mikalai Budzko: Served in the Belarusian Army

Journalists say that the commander of the 4th assault squad - a native of Belarus, Mikalai Budzko, was the one who gave the order to execute El-Ismail.

Budzko was born in Horki in 1975. He served in the Belarusian army, was promoted to deputy platoon commander of the airborne troops. Then he moved to Russia, obtained citizenship there and got a job in the Special Purpose Police Unit. Subsequently, he went on combat missions in Dagestan and Chechnya, served in the French Foreign Legion, in the Russian PMC Moran Security Group and, finally, in 2015, was recruited to the Wagner PMC, where he became commander of the 4th Assault Company.

According to journalists, Budzko was not punished after his alleged involvement in the torture and execution of the Syrian - he continued to command the assault squad, carrying out missions in Syria and Africa.

Andrei Bakunovich: Detained in Sanatorium Near Minsk in 2020

The second Belarusian, whose identity was established, is Andrei Bakunovich with a call sign "Stropa", born in 1977, a citizen of Russia and Belarus. He is one of the 32 people, whom the KGB of Belarus detained in the sanatorium of "Belarusachka" in summer 2020.

We remind, the Belarusian security forces then said that these were the mercenaries of the Wagner PMC, whose task was to destabilize the situation in the country. Lukashenka himself called the incident an emergency and demanded explanations from the Russian side.

On July 30, the Investigative Committee of Belarus announced that the detained Russians were suspected of preparation of mass riots. The statement of the Investigative Committee implied that these were the same riots, the preparation of which was imputed to Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Moscow explained the appearance of the Russians in Minsk by the fact that the detainees had been on the way to Istanbul and had missed their flight.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry forwarded the lists of detainees to Ukraine to check their involvement in the military actions in Donbas. Ukraine soon demanded the extradition of 28 of the 33 detainees.

Russian President Vladimir Putin convened the Russian Security Council, where they called the detention of the Russians in Belarus groundless and expressed hope that they would be released soon. The detainees were soon handed over to the Russian side.

By that time, Bakunovich and his fellow members of the Minsk epic were no longer with the Wagner PMC, writes the Dossier. What happened to him after his return to Russia is unknown.

"The "Dossier" centre sent a request to the KGB trying to learn about Bakunovich's fate. However, we understand the hopelessness of this formality," the material says.

According to the journalists, they did not send requests to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, as "its position is already clear". Back in 2019, Novaya Gazeta asked the Russian law enforcement authorities to open a criminal case in connection with the murder, but received a refusal.

A complaint against the actions of Russian justice is now awaiting consideration by the European Court of Human Rights.