russia has committed numerous atrocities in syria since its armed forces and private military companies entered the fighting to back up bashar al-assad. russian carpet bombings of syrian cities, use of cluster munitions against civilians, and deployment of chemical weapons have all been documented by international human rights organizations, including at the un level. yet it is prigozhins wagner company, which was stationed in syria from late 2015, that has shown exceptional levels of violence. videos emerged over the years of wagner soldiers brutally torturing, killing, and mutilating the bodies of syrians  both civilians and soldiers. they were clearly honing the merciless tactics they later used in ukraine. perhaps the most famous case of the wagner atrocities happened in 2017. muhammad taha ismail al abdullah, also known as hamdi bouta, deserted from the syrian army. he was caught, beaten with a sledgehammer, tortured, and then shot dead by a group of russian-speaking men. they later mounted his head at the entrance to their compound. the entire process was documented by them on video and photo. the incident was analyzed by investigators and the perpetrators were identified as wagner group mercenaries. the sledgehammer has since become something of a symbol of wagners brutality, used among the group and its supporters to glorify violence against civilians. prigozhin himself adopted it as part of his personal brand, and even sent a bloodied sledgehammer in a violin case to the european parliament in november 2022.  european and russian human rights groups petitioned russian authorities to open an investigation into the case of hamdi bouta. unsurprisingly, the russian justice system failed to open such an investigation, both initially and in an appeal. an appeal was filed with the european court of human rights in 2022.   s/1862913232341696899 pic 1  
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