A former commander of the mercenary group, Wagner, was arrested by the Norwegian police on suspicion that he illegally attempted to cross the border back into Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, his lawyer said on Saturday (September 23).
Andrei Medvedev, who exited Russia in the month of January via its Arctic border with Norway, said that he ran as Russian guards fired shots at him.
Police released a statement late on Friday (September 22) saying that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody for trying to cross the Russian border illegally, but did not name him. An officer with the Finnmark local police refused to give the arrested man’s identity.
Crossing the border to Russia is only permitted at specified points.
However, as per news agency Reuters reports, Medvedev’s arrest was due to a misunderstanding, said his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes.
“He was up there to see if he could find the place where he crossed (into Norway in January). He was stopped when he was in a taxi. He was never near the border … It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia),” Risnes said.
While seeking asylum in Norway, Medvedev had said that he feared for his life after he witnessed the killing of Russian prisoners brought to the frontline in Ukraine and the way they were mistreated.
His escape in the month of January made headlines around the world as a rare example of someone fleeing to the Western world while also claiming to have fought for Russia as a mercenary in the Ukraine war.
However, later in the month of May, he released a video on YouTube saying that he wanted to go back to Russia despite the fact that his decision could pose a risk to his life.
He said that he was “some kind of a boy in a big game” that he no longer wanted to be part of.
Risnes said Medvedev had the right to return to Russia if he wanted to, but that “a lot of changes need to happen” in order to make a safe return.
(With inputs from agencies)
