An 87-year-old pensioner was assaulted on a Moscow bus for his alleged criticism of the Wagner mercenary group, the independent rights project OVD-Info reported Friday, citing an eyewitness and the veterans lawyer.Dmitry Grinchiy was attacked by two fellow passengers who claimed he called Wagner fighters murderers as their bus passed a memorial to the mercenary group, OVD-Info said.Video of the incident shows two men aggressively twisting Grinchiys arms, shouting and cursing at him, and trying to drag him off the bus to hand him over to the police.All three men were detained following the incident.Grinchiy was later released without charges and filed a complaint regarding the assault.The Wagner memorial was erected in central Moscow last year following the death of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash just two months after he launched a stunning mutiny against Russias military leadership for its handling of the war in Ukraine.Wagner mercenaries, who have operated in conflict zones in Ukraine, Syria and several African countries, have been accused of severe human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture.Grinchiys father, Pavel Grinchiy, was executed on espionage charges in 1938 during Stalins Great Terror.Grinchiy later told journalist Ilya Azar that he didn't disgrace anyone on the bus, but was simply remembering that in '37 all my relatives were shot.I just regret that I had to be born in a country where people are not considered people.
Decent people, he told Azar.