The British Government is set to declare Wagner a terrorist organization. While not a deadly blow to the organization, it adds to its growing issues following its leader’s apparent assassination.
Britain has expertise in the domestic terrorist domain, having proscribed Northern Irish militant groups on both the Nationalist and Loyalist sides. The BBC reports:
Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, is set to be proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK government – meaning it will be illegal to be a member or support the organisation.
A draft order to be laid in Parliament will allow its assets to be categorised as terrorist property and seized.
Britain has a significant population of Russian expatriates, whose loyalty to the Putin regime varies. Any support to Wagner on their part would put them in the crosshairs of the British legal system. Fox News continues:
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the home secretary, Braverman, is empowered to proscribe, or condemn an organization if there are concerns the group is associated with terrorism.
In doing so, supporting the group in any way would become a criminal offense resulting in up to 14 years in prison and a fine of up to £5,000, or $6,200.
Wagner is currently circumscribed to operations in Africa and its base in Belarus. The death of its leader Prigozhin has seriously weakened it, but new coups in Africa has increased opportunities.
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