Norwegian police have arrested a former commander of the Wagner mercenary army on suspicion of attempting to illegally cross the border into Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, the man’s lawyer said on Saturday.
Andrei Medvedev, who escaped from Russia in January across the Arctic border with Norway, described how he ran away when Russian guards shot at him. He has spoken about his time in the struggle in Ukraine as a member of the Wagner group.
Police said in a statement late Friday that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody for attempting to illegally cross the Russian border, but did not mention him by name. An officer from the local Finnmark police declined to reveal the identity of the arrested man.
Crossing the border with Russia is only allowed at designated points.
But Medvedev’s arrest was due to a misunderstanding, his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters.
“It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia),” Risnes said.
Upon his arrival in Norway, Medvedev said he sought asylum because he feared for his life after witnessing the killing and abuse of Russian prisoners taken to the front lines in Ukraine.
His escape in January made headlines around the world as a rare example at the time of someone defecting to a Western country while claiming to have fought for Russia as a mercenary in the war in Ukraine.
But in May, he said in a video posted to YouTube that he wanted to return to Russia even though he thought it could endanger his life, describing himself as “kind of like a boy in a big game” where he could no longer wanted to be part of.
Risnes said Medvedev had the right to return to Russia if he wanted, but that “a lot needs to change” to allow for a safe return.
