DOJ charges 4 Russian fighters with committing war crimes against US national

The Justice Department is charging four Russian fighters with committing war crimes against a U.S. national. 

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the "Justice Department has filed the first ever charges under the U.S. war crimes statute against four Russia-affiliated military personnel for heinous crimes against an American citizen" through an indictment returned Tuesday in the Eastern District of Virginia. The charges include conspiracy to commit war crimes, including war crimes outlawed by the international community after World War Two, unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment. 

The indictment charges Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU in connection with their alleged unlawful detainment of a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The defendants are alleged to have interrogated, severely beaten, and tortured the victim. 

They also allegedly threatened to kill the victim and conducted a mock execution, according to the Justice Department.