Former Wagner Group fighter who sought asylum in Norway arrested for trying to return to Russia
The Norwegian police has arrested Andrey Medvedev, a former Wagner Group mercenary who illegally crossed the Russia-Norway border and requested political asylum in Norway in January, Medvedev’s lawyer told Reuters.
On September 22, Norwegian police reported that they arrested a man who attempted to illegally cross the border into Russia, but didn’t disclose his name.
Medvedev’s lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, called his arrest a misunderstanding. According to him, Medvedev wasn’t trying to cross the border into Russia, but rather was trying to see if he could find the location where he had crossed the border in January. “They stopped him while he was in a taxi. He never approached the border…It was not his intention to cross the border,” said the lawyer.
Risnes added that Medvedev has the right to return to Russia, if that’s what he prefers, but that “a lot has to change” in order for him to return safely.
