They filed criminal charges, accusing Wagner of recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine
Serbs and pro-Ukraine activists have filed criminal charges against the Russian paramilitary group Wagner and its supporters, accusing it of recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine.
Cedomir Stojkovic, a Belgrade-based lawyer, said the defendants include Russia’s ambassador to Serbia Aleksandar Bochan-Kharchenko and Aleksandar Vulin, head of Serbia’s state security and intelligence agency (BIA).
“We have reasonable suspicions that Vulin … gave orders, instructions and guidelines that the activities of the Wagner Group in Serbia should not be prevented,” he said.
Stojkovic said Botsan-Harchenko, who enjoys diplomatic immunity, cannot be prosecuted in Serbia but should be ordered to leave the country.
Once a criminal complaint is filed, it is up to the prosecutor to decide whether or not to proceed with the case.
Neither the Russian embassy in Belgrade nor the BIA responded to requests for comment.
Petr Nikitin, head of the Russian Democratic Society, a group opposed to Kremlin policies, said those spreading hatred against Ukraine should be prosecuted.
“Spreading hatred among Serbs against Ukrainians, against a people who have never done anything wrong in Serbia… is a crime,” he told reporters.
According to observers, dozens of Serbian volunteers and mercenaries have been fighting alongside pro-Russian forces in Ukraine since 2014.
Serbian law prohibits the participation of Serbian citizens in conflicts abroad, and many individuals have been convicted of this.
On Monday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic criticized Russian websites and social media groups for publishing ads in the Serbian language in which Wagner, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is calling for volunteers to join its ranks.
Vucic denied claims that Wagner has a presence in Serbia where ultra-nationalist and pro-Kremlin groups have long supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Serbia is a candidate for European Union membership, but it also has close traditional ties to Russia, and the Balkan country is entirely dependent on gas imports from Russia.
Earlier this week, Prigozhin denied that his organization has a presence in Serbia.
Although it has repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations and several other international forums, Belgrade has so far refused to impose sanctions against Moscow.
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