What happens if a mercenary is captured?

According to the GC III, a captured soldier must be treated as a lawful combatant and, therefore, as a protected person with prisoner-of-war status until facing a competent tribunal (GC III Art 5).

What happens when mercenaries are captured?

Under international humanitarian law, being a mercenary does not constitute a specific crime. The same holds true for the Statute of the International Criminal Court. If arrested, mercenaries are not entitled to the status of prisoners of war, but the detaining power can decide to treat them according to this status.

Can mercenaries be legally executed?

[25] Consequently, the summary execution of mercenaries is prohibited. According to this rule, States are free to grant prisoner-of-war status to a mercenary or withhold it, but the mercenary has no right to claim such status as a defence against prosecution.

Is using mercenaries a war crime?

Under current laws and regulations, it is not illegal for a U.S. citizen to provide combat services as a foreign mercenary fighter. The closest legal prohibition to U.S. mercenaries might be found in the Neutrality Act (18 U.S.C. §960).

Can mercenaries become prisoners of war?

A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.

Russia’s Wagner group of mercenaries claim to capture village near Bakhmut

What rights do mercenaries have?

According to the Geneva Convention Protocol 1, mercenaries are defined as “unlawful combatants” and do not, therefore, have the right to be considered combatants or to be taken as prisoners of war.

Why are mercenaries illegal?

By the 20th century, the market for force was defunct. The mid-century surge in underground private warfare prompted Geneva Protocols I and II in 1977 that banned mercenaries. The primary objection is that they were warriors without a state, fighting for money rather than national ideology.

Does the US use mercenaries?

Many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are not signatories to the 1989 United Nations Mercenary Convention banning the use of mercenaries.

How much do Blackwater mercenaries get paid?

Average Blackwater Security hourly pay ranges from approximately $15.75 per hour for Security Officer to $17.49 per hour for Patrol Officer.

What is the income of a mercenary?

The average mercenary salary in the USA is $75,000 per year or $36.06 per hour. Entry level positions start at $50,000 per year while most experienced workers make up to $100,000 per year.

What is punishable by death in the military?

A person who is found guilty of attempted mutiny, mutiny, sedition, or failure to suppress or report a mutiny or sedition shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

Can you execute a prisoner of war?

Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention.

Are mercenaries protected by international law?

The United Nations Mercenary Convention, officially the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, is a 2001 United Nations treaty that prohibits the recruitment, training, use, and financing of mercenaries.

What happens if you get captured in war?

POWs cannot be held in cells or other forms of close confinement (except in connection with a criminal process or disciplinary sanctions). They can, however, be housed – interned – in camps to prevent their return to the battlefield. They must be released and repatriated without delay at the end of active hostilities.

Are you allowed to be a mercenary?

International law prohibits the use of mercenaries in armed conflict and certain peaceful situations.

Who currently owns Blackwater?

It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed Academi in 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors. In 2014, Academi merged with Triple Canopy, a subsidiary of Constellis Group. Later, Academi was fully integrated into the parent company, and now operates under the name Constellis.

How much does a Russian mercenary make?

The pay of Wagner private military contractors (PMCs), who are usually retired regular Russian servicemen aged between 35 and 55, is estimated to be between 80,000 and 250,000 Russian rubles a month (667–2,083 USD). One source stated the pay was as high as 300,000 (US$2,500).

Are Blackwater mercenaries?

In the book, Scahill contends that Blackwater exists as a mercenary force, and argues that Blackwater's rise is a consequence of the demobilization of the US military following the Cold War and its overextension in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What are the disadvantages of using mercenaries?

Adamu, however, said the major disadvantage of the mercenaries is abuse of local and international laws because they are not bound by any rules beyond their contracting terms or sometimes, financial obligations. “They could be used for espionage and other subversive activities.

How many soldiers shot for cowardice?

Finally, in August 2006, after a 14-year struggle, the British High Court granted a pardon to Farr; hours after informing Farr's family of its verdict, the government announced it would seek Parliament's approval to pardon all 306 soldiers executed for cowardice during World War I.

Who can watch an execution?

Can POW be tortured?

No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.

What is the biggest mercenary company in the world?

Currently Blackwater (Xe Services LLC, Academi) is the largest organization of its kind in the world. The company has a headquarters located in North Carolina.

Can civilians hire mercenaries?

Geneva Convention

The use and recruitment of mercenaries are legally forbidden by the 1989 International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.