The independent Russian outlet Verstka found that in 2023, at least 190 criminal cases were launched against Wagner Group mercenaries who had been pardoned in exchange for fighting in Ukraine.
Just this week, a former mercenary who had been pardoned was arrested for the murder of a woman in St. Petersburg.
Before his release to serve in Ukraine, he had been serving a 12-year sentence for murder.
On Wednesday, another Wagner member was handed a 22-year prison sentence after he was convicted for raping and killing an elderly woman.
The man had previously been sentenced to 14 years in prison for another murder before he was released.
The concerning trend manifested after the Russian Army was forced to change the terms prisoners would need to agree to before being released.
Under Prigozhin’s version of the scheme, convicts would be allowed to quit military service after six months – and they would often find themselves having more benefits than regular soldiers, an arrangement caused significant backlash from military personnel.
Newly-released prisoners joining the war effort now have an initial one-year contract which is understood will be automatically renewed.
Rather than a pardon, a conditional release agreement is now struck at the end of the military service.
Under the new arrangement, anyone who is found to have reoffended after serving in the army will see their previous conviction taken into account to set the new sentence.
