Russian invasion of Ukraine: – Killed in Ukraine: Demands answers

The remains of 23-year-old exchange student Lemikani Nerenda, who was killed in Ukraine while fighting for Vladimir Putin’s war machine, arrived Sunday in his native Zambia. According to the Associated Press (AP).

Nerenda was murdered in September, just a month after he was recruited by the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Zambian authorities are now demanding a detailed explanation from the Russian authorities not only of how the 23-year-old was recruited, but also how he was killed.

Convicted – then enlisted

The 23-year-old Zambian studied nuclear engineering in Moscow, but in April 2020 he was found guilty of drug trafficking. He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment.

Before Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilized 300,000 Russians for the war in Ukraine, the Russian authorities relied on volunteers to recruit soldiers.

Putin’s war machine was attracted by large bonuses and a relatively high salary, but the large numbers did not materialize.

Thus began the notorious Wagner mercenary group, Owned by Chef Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhinto recruit soldiers from Russian prisons.

those who volunteered, He was pardoned in exchange for military service in Ukraine.

Common abuse

This summer, 23-year-old Nirenda was recruited. On August 23, the Zambian authorities were informed that the exchange seeker had been pardoned in exchange for Nerenda’s service in Ukraine.

He then served more than two years of his prison sentence.

It is not known what concrete assessments the 23-year-old made prior to his recruitment to Wagner, but prison conditions in Russian prisons can be downright harsh.

In the 2021 report The US State Department writes that “overcrowding, mistreatment by guards and prisoners, limited access to health care, food shortages, and inadequate sanitary conditions are common in prisons, penal camps, and other facilities.”

The would-be Wagner fugitive was arrested

It happened the same year Dagbladet has access to extensive video material documenting systematic torture of inmates in Russian prisons.

– Torture as a problem in Russian prisons is very acute and the authorities are not doing enough to ensure effective investigations into it, said Tanya Lokshina, then Europe director at Human Rights Watch.

requires a response

In September, just weeks after Zambian authorities were informed that Nyrinda had been pardoned against participating in the war in Ukraine, the 23-year-old was said to have been killed in Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.

When, where and how exactly, neither Nerinda’s family nor the Zambian authorities know.

Zambia’s foreign minister, Stanley Kakubo, said that Zambian authorities have asked Russian authorities to provide reports of Nerenda’s military service and conscription, the Associated Press writes.

Responding to Russian “panic letters”.

– We requested details, and not just about his recruitment, from Russian officials, Kakubo says in a statement.

In the 23-year-old’s hometown, Lusaku in Zambia, residents are terrified of death.

– How can Russia recruit our studying compatriots to fight their war? This is definitely not true, and our authorities must make sure that they can protect the lives of our citizens in Russia.

reports in November

In mid-November, there were reports that 23-year-old Nerenda had been killed in Ukraine.

“Our thoughts, hearts and prayers are with Nerenda’s family, friends and loved ones,” he wrote. Then the Zambian diaspora in Moscow.

At the end of November, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, and He confirmed the killing of a Zambian citizen in Ukraine.

– will suffer the same fate

Then Prigozhin, one of Putin’s closest allies, claimed that Nerenda wanted to fight in Ukraine.

Nerenda’s family did not comment on Prigozhzhin’s remarks, but said in a statement that a forensic examination of the 23-year-old’s body would be conducted prior to the funeral.