In Serbia, a lawsuit was filed against the Russian PMC Wagner. The reason was the recruitment of Serbs for the war in Ukraine.
Reuters writes about it.
According to a lawyer from Belgrade, Cedomir Stojkovic, among the accused are the Russian ambassador to Serbia Oleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko and Aleksandar Vulin, the head of the Serbian State Security and Information Agency (BIA).
“We have reasonable suspicions that Vulin... gave orders, directives and instructions not to interfere with the activities of PMC Wagner in Serbia,” Stojkovic said.
He added that Botsan-Kharchenko cannot be prosecuted in Serbia because of diplomatic immunity, but he must leave the country.
- The Russian PMC Wagner takes an active part in the war against Ukraine and is involved not only in battles, but also in the construction of defense fortifications in the occupied territories. Also, the "Wagnerians" are probably responsible for a number of executions of prisoners and war crimes.
- In November, EU deputies proposed to recognize the "Wagner PMC" as a terrorist organization. A corresponding draft law is also being considered in the USA. In December, the US State Department added Wagner PMC to the list of organizations of "special concern".
- The Serbian authorities prohibit their citizens from participating in conflicts abroad. Several mercenaries have already been convicted for this. Despite this, Serbian volunteers participated in the war in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. According to observersʼ estimates, dozens of Serbs have signed up for PMC Wagner since 2014.
- Serbia is traditionally one of Russiaʼs closest allies in Europe. It also has close economic ties with the Russian Federation. Since the beginning of the invasion, Serbia resists pressure from the European Union and does not introduce sanctions against Russia, although it is a candidate country for joining the EU and for this it must pursue a joint foreign policy with the European Union.
- On January 17, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said that Russia should stop recruiting Serbs to the Wagner PMC. And the next day, he publicly condemned Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine and emphasized that Crimea and Donbas should belong to Ukraine.