Wagner Group found to have run secret prisons, tortured civilians in Mali

Since arriving in Mali in late 2021, Russian mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group have established a network of illegal prisons in Mali in which hundreds of civillians have been arbitrarily detained, imprisoned and subjected to torture, according to a joint investigation published on Thursday by Forbidden Stories, France 24, Le Monde, and Russian investigative outlet IStories.

Comparing testimony from former prisoners who had fled to neighboring Mauritania as refugees, journalists were able to confirm the existence of six Wagner prisons across the west African country, including several located on the territory of former UN bases and current Malian army camps.

Former prisoners interviewed by the project’s journalists testified to being subjected to torture, forced labour, and constant hunger. They described being beaten with electric cables or sticks, being electrocuted, waterboarded, and being held in metal containers in the scorching sun. One former detainee said that the torture was often carried out to the sound of Russian music.

“Wagner has prisons in nearly every area where it operates. Anyone captured and not executed ends up there. Shepherds, shopkeepers, truck drivers,” an analyst who specialises in Africa’s Sahel region told Forbidden Stories.

On 6 June, the Wagner Group, which has been largely incorporated into Russian military structures since its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, announced that it would be withdrawing its forces from Mali, claiming the accomplishment of their “main goal” in the country. “All regional capitals have been returned to the control of legitimate authorities”, Wagner’s press service said.

Wagner Group had been active in Mali since the end of 2021, after a military junta rose to power following a coup. Since their arrival, which coincided with France’s withdrawal of troops from the country, human rights activists regularly accused Wagner mercenaries of committing crimes against civilians during operations carried out jointly with the Malian military.

In early 2024, the Russian Defence Ministry established the Africa Corps, a paramilitary structure to protect Russian military and economic interests in African countries. In total, the unit included 20,000 people, including Wagner Group fighters who had been stationed in the Sahel. Since Wagner’s withdrawal from Mali, Africa Corps have remained active and plan to continue operations in the country, according to Reuters.