ALBAWABA - The UK government is set to declare the Russian mercenary group Wagner a terrorist group, meaning it will be illegal to be a member or support the organization.
BBC reported that the draft order to be laid in Parliament will allow its assets to be categorized as terrorist property and seized. Home Secretary of the United Kingdom Suella Braverman said: "Wagner's work in Ukraine and Africa was a threat to global security".
"Wagner's continuing destabilizing activities only continue to serve the Kremlin's political goals" Braverman added.
The mercenary group played a pivotal role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as operating in a number of African countries including Mali, Libya, and Sudan. Additionally, Wagner had a very clear presence in Syria supporting Russia's operations alongside the Bashar al-Assad regime.
This announcement comes following the death of Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a mysterious plane crash, where he was heading from Moscow to St. Petersburg on August 23. Reports that the founder of Wagner Dmitry Utkin was also among the people who were on the plane that carried Prigozhin and crashed.
The Wagner Group has been accused of using cluster munitions and other banned weapons, committing human rights abuses and war crimes in the countries where it has operated, and among these countries are a number of Arab countries.
This order will make it a criminal offense to support the group - including by arranging meetings aimed at furthering the organization's activities, expressing support for its aims, or displaying its flag or logo.
Committing the offense of associating with the Wagner group could lead to 14 years in prison or a fine of up to £5,000 ($6,281.78). The UK government had come under pressure from MPs for some months to proscribe the group.
Earlier this year, Labour's shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, pushed the government to ban the mercenary group, accusing them of being "responsible for the appalling atrocities in Ukraine and around the world".
On Tuesday, Lammy welcomed the order draft on social media, saying, "This is long overdue, but it's welcome the government has finally acted. Now the government should press for a Special Tribunal to prosecute Putin for his crime of aggression".
