An investigation carried out by the Russian newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” published an image on April 21, shows members of Russian Wagner forces (Russian company provides mercenaries to world countries) place a decapitated head in front of them. SNHR contact with the family of the victim and received his name- the Syrian citizen Muhammad Taha al Ismail (in contrast with the investigation that stated he is Hammadi al Taha al Bouta). The victim is from al Kharrita village in the western suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate. He was arrested in 2017 by Syrian regime forces at Syrian- Lebanese border while he was turned from Lebanon to Syria and was taken for conscription. He was arrested again as he was trying to dissent and flee, according tonet on November 15, 2019, showing severe torture operation applied on the Syrian citizen Muhammad al Ismail to death where the forces burnt and disfigured his corpse by gunmen talking Russian. The image was published by the Russian newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” on April 21, 2020, where it is proven that the Russian Wagner forces killed the Syrian citizen and disfigured his corpse in al Sha’er Gas field in Homs governorate which is guarded by Euro Police company- the legal face of Wagner which is unregistered since the summer of 2017.
In the picture, we note that the mercenaries are laughing and happy while they took the photo which remind us with the acts of the terrorist organization of ISIS which was condemned widely by the world’s countries. We hope that such barbaric acts carried out by mercenaries of Wagner will face the same level of condemnation as terrorist acts and blatant violation of the International Humanitarian Law.
