Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
Following the violent abduction, the release explained, the defendants allegedly moved him to
“an improvised military compound” that was being used by the Russian military and its affiliates. During his captivity, the victim was allegedly subjected to two torture-filled interrogations, beaten, held at gunpoint, threatened with death, and subjected to a mock execution, the release stated. He allegedly suffered these abuses at the hands of the defendants as well as other individuals, it noted.
In addition to being charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, the defendants have been charged with the following war crimes, in particular:
- Unlawful confinement
- Torture
- Inhuman treatment
All four men may face life in prison if convicted, the release states.
“Since the start of their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia has weaponized human rights abuses to wreak unimaginable tragedy,” Wray said of the announcement. “Today’s indictment—the first ever under the U.S. war crimes statute—makes clear that the FBI will work with the full cooperation of international law enforcement to bring justice to the victims of these atrocities. The human toll of the conflict in Ukraine weighs heavily on the hearts of the FBI and, we’re resolved to hold war criminals accountable no matter where they are or how long it takes.”
The FBI’s Washington Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations—the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security—investigated this case in conjunction with the Bureau’s International Human Rights Unit, Victim Services Division, and our international offices in Kyiv, Ukraine; Warsaw, Poland; and Moscow.
The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center at the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement; DOJ’s Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section and War Crimes Accountability Team; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also supported the investigation.