US Charges Four Russians With Torturing American

The Messenger reports:

The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed its first official war-crimes charges against four Russian men accused of torturing an American in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion of the country.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges at a press conference that was described as an event to announce “significant humans rights actions.” It also featured Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christoper Wray.

The charges against the four men, Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, and two whose names are unknown, include torture, mistreatment, conspiracy to commitment war crime, and unlawful confinement of an American citizen.

The Washington Post reports:

The indictment says that Mkrtchyan and Budnik were commanding officers of military units of the Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. The two others, known only by their first names, Valerii and Nazar, were lower-ranking military personnel.

They were reportedly fighting on behalf of Russia when they allegedly tortured the American. Garland said the victim was not fighting in the conflict and, under international law, was considered a “protected person.”

Kidnapping and torturing a protected person would constitute a war crime. The indictment portrays chilling abuse allegations in which the four men repeatedly beat the victim and made him think he was about to be killed — at one point even asking for his last words.

The Department of Justice has filed the first ever charges under the U.S. war crimes statute against four Russia-affiliated military personnel for heinous crimes against an American citizen, AG Merrick Garland announces. https://t.co/q5MOKZyOSx pic.twitter.com/LwSUBAzXD7

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 6, 2023