Wagner Group mercenaries have created a network of illegal prisons in Mali - journalists

A network of secret prisons where civilians were held was created in Mali by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner PMC. This conclusion was reached by journalists from Forbidden Stories, France 24 and Le Monde during a joint investigation, writes UNN referring to the Telegram channel "Important Stories".

Details

The investigators discovered at least six secret prisons operating outside the control of the Malian authorities. They held people suspected of links with jihadists or separatists, as well as civilians detained during mass raids.

The "Wagnerites" themselves decide who to take

According to the human rights organization Kal Akal, from November 2023 to April 2025, 668 civilians were arrested, abducted or disappeared in the country.

Former prisoners of these prisons reported brutal torture. People were beaten with electric cables, sticks, tortured by drowning, and kept in metal containers under the scorching sun.

We were beaten with electric cables, sticks, tortured with water. Often everything happened to Russian music

They also mentioned forced labor and starvation. Some of the prisoners were released only after paying a ransom.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common practice

The journalists conducted the investigation as part of the "Victoria" project, named after Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in September 2024 after being captured while working in the occupied territories.

Forbidden Stories and partners were able to confirm the existence of six such prisons in different cities: Nampala, Sevare, Bafo and others. Some of them are located on territories formally belonging to the Malian army.

"Wagner" has prisons almost everywhere they are based. Everyone who is not killed immediately ends up there. They kidnap shepherds, traders, drivers

Additionally

Mercenaries from the Wagner PMC began operating in Mali in late 2021 after French peacekeepers left the country due to a coup and the coming to power of the military junta. Since then, they have been regularly accused of crimes against civilians during joint operations with the Malian army.

In 2024, according to the ACLED research group, Wagner militants killed 925 civilians — twice as many as Islamists, who accounted for about 400 victims. The completion of the Wagner PMC's activities in Mali was announced on June 6, 2025 via an affiliated Telegram channel.

Reference

Wagner PMC is a Russian armed group that participates in conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Sudan and a number of other countries. Its fighters have repeatedly been accused of war crimes, including torture, abductions and mass killings.

Let us remind

Mali has been the scene of a long-running confrontation between government forces and Tuareg separatists and jihadist groups. Massive human rights violations, including abductions and killings of civilians, have become common practice in the context of weak state institutions and external interference.

The Wagner PMC's model of action in Mali has much in common with the tactics used by Russian forces in the occupied territories of Ukraine – from torture to abductions and enforced disappearances. This underscores the transnational nature of the threat posed by the activities of the "Wagnerites".