Officially, the Wagner Group does not exist. The paramilitary organization, a de facto private army of Russian President Vladimir Putin, deploys soldiers-for-hire anywhere Russia’s interest in natural resources is compromised—Libya, Mozambique, Syria, Ukraine.

Its design as a spiderweb of overlapping ownership and logistic networks has made taking legal action against its infamous human rights violations impossible—until now. In this searing exposé, the horrific beheading of Syrian detainee Mohammed Taha-al Ismail by Wagner mercenaries is being brought before the courts.

Circulated widely on YouTube, the graphic war-crime video is analyzed by intrepid journalists and investigators, who uncover not only the identities of the suspects but also other inhumanity being committed elsewhere in the world. Terrifying and urgent in light of Wagner’s current presence in Ukraine, this investigative film sheds important light on the big business behind dirty wars.

Film note by Hot Docs programmer Myrocia Watamaniuk.

In French with English subtitles.

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