France, June 12 -- A collaborative investigation by international media outlets has uncovered secret prisons run by Russian Wagner mercenaries in Mali, where abuse and torture are carried out with impunity. Reporters with the Forbidden Stories consortium - which includes RFI's sister channel France 24 - reveal how the Wagner paramilitary group duplicated methods it has used in Russia and Ukraine.

Since arriving in Mali in 2021, Russian Wagner mercenaries have arrested, imprisoned and torturedhundreds of civilians in former United Nations bases and military camps shared with the Malian army, according to theForbidden Stories investigationpublished on Thursday.

Forbidden Stories and its partners (including IStories, Le Monde and France 24...