A South African-based mercenary group has been accused by a former member of trying to intentionally spread HIV in southern Africa in the 80s and 90s.

Alexander Jones made these claims in the documentary Cold Case Hammarskjöld which premiered this weekend at the Sundance film festival in the US‚ The Guardian reported on Sunday.

Jones said he was an intelligence officer with the South African Institute for Maritime Research (SAIMR) which masterminded coups and violence in Africa.

The Guardian writes that Jones claims that SAIMR leader Keith Maxwell had a “racist‚ apocalyptic obsession with HIV/Aids”.

Maxwell reportedly claimed to be a doctor while running clinics in poor‚ mostly black areas around Johannesburg‚ allowing him to carry out sinister experiments.

“What easier way to get a guinea pig than [when] you live in an apartheid system?” Jones says in the film. “Black people have got no rights‚ they need medical treatment. There’s a white ‘philanthropist’ coming in and saying‚ ‘You know‚ I’ll open up these clinics and I’ll treat you.’ And meantime [he is] actually the wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

According to IMDB‚ Cold Case Hammarskjöld will be released in Denmark on February 2. It investigates the death of former United National secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld.