Stanislav Dychko, a fighter with the Russian mercenary group Wagner, is among those who allegedly killed and decapitated the Syrian man

Russian mercenaries linked to a businessman close to President Putin killed and decapitated a man in Syria and hung his head from a fence, according to a report in Moscow.

The victim, reported to be Mohammad Taha al Ismail Abdullah, 31, from the city of Deir Ezzor, was killed at the Shaer gas field in Homs region. He had apparently deserted from the Syrian army, which is supported by Russia.

A video first published in November showed men in military clothes and speaking Russian beating the victim to death with a sledgehammer. They then cut off the corpse’s head, amputated its hands with a trowel and suspended the body by its feet, before setting it on fire.

New photographs discovered by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper