Former Wagner Group commander who fled to Norway arrested by police - The Guardian

Andrey Medvedev, a erstwhile commandant of Russia’s Wagner mercenary radical who precocious fled to Norway, has been apprehended by police, helium told the Guardian connected Monday.

Medvedev’s Norwegian lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes said that the constabulary decided to apprehend Medvedev connected Sunday evening aft a “strong disagreement” with the erstwhile Wagner worker implicit surviving conditions astatine the harmless location wherever helium had been surviving since helium arrived successful Norway.

“He was staying connected a voluntary ground astatine the harmless house. If helium refuses to beryllium there, they person to either fto him spell oregon detain him,” Risnes said.

Risnes added that Medvedev was present being moved to the impermanent detention centre.

“I volition effort to talk to the constabulary and we volition evidently find a solution,” the lawyer said.

Medvedev, successful a little telephone telephone with the Guardian, confirmed helium had been apprehended, and expressed worries that helium would beryllium deported to Russia.

Earlier connected Monday, Norwegian constabulary announced Medvedev was successful custody.

“He is apprehended … and we are considering whether to question a court’s determination for internment,” Line Isaksen of the Norwegian constabulary told Reuters, declining to springiness further details.

Medvedev, 26, crossed the borderline into Norway connected 13 January, wherever helium applied for asylum.

Before fleeing, Medvedev said that successful Ukraine helium had witnessed the summary sidesplitting of Wagner fighters accused by their ain commanders of disobeying orders, sometimes successful pairs.

He said helium was acceptable to archer everything helium knew astir the Wagner Group, its activities and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Medvedev is the archetypal known worker from the Wagner Group who fought successful Ukraine to fly abroad.

The US said past Friday that Wagner, which has played a cardinal portion successful Russia’s penetration of Ukraine, would beryllium designated a important “transnational transgression organization”.