Dozens of survivors from the first inmate assault units are filtering back to Russia with medals and sizable payouts. Read more at straitstimes.com.
NEW YORK - He was released from a Russian prison and thrown into battle in Ukraine with a promise of freedom, redemption and money.
President Vladimir Putin’s decision to allow a mercenary group to recruit Russian convicts in support ofmarks a watershed in his 23-year rule, say human rights activists and legal experts. The policy circumvents Russian legal precedent and, by returning some brutalised criminals to their homes with pardons, risks triggering greater violence throughout society, underlining the cost Mr Putin is prepared to pay to avoid defeat.
“There are no more crimes, and no more punishments,” said Ms Olga Romanova, the head of Russia Behind Bars. “Anything is permissible now, and this brings very far-reaching consequences for any country.” Dozens of survivors from the first inmate assault units began filtering back to Russia in January with medals, big payouts and documents that Wagner claims grant them freedom.
They described a sophisticated system of incentives and brutality built by Wagner, with the Kremlin’s support, to refill Russia’s decimated military ranks using questionable, and possibly illegal, methods.Mr Andrei Medvedev said he joined Wagner within days of finishing his prison term for theft in southern Russia. A former convict with military experience, he says he was put in charge of a detachment of prisoners who were dispatched on nearly suicidal missions around Bakhmut.
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