Three Russian men were detained in the African nation of Chad, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said late Monday, confirming earlier reports.
The ministry identified the detained Russians as Maxim Shugaley, Samer Sueifan and E. Tsaryov, saying it was in “close contact” with authorities in Chad and taking the “necessary steps in the interests of their swift release.”
The state-run RIA Novosti news agency, citing unnamed sources, reported Monday that Shugaley and Sueifan, whom it described as “sociologists,” had been held at the airport of Chad’s capital since Sept. 19. The pair were reportedly detained without explanation.
Shugaley heads the Moscow-based NGO Foundation for the Defense of National Values, which is part of a media group the United States claims is linked to the late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Shugaley is under EU sanctions, listed as working directly under Prigozhin’s supervision as the “public relations arm of the Wagner Group,” and spreading “propaganda and disinformation.”
Both Shugaley and Sueifan were arrested in Libya in May 2019 and accused of election interference on behalf of Russia. They were freed after 18 months of captivity, after which Prigozhin’s company Concord said it would pay them nearly $500,000.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said a Belarusian citizen had also been detained along with the three Russian men in Chad, identifying him as A. Denisevich.