Former commander of the Wagner Group, Andrey Medvedev, was arrested in Norway on Friday under suspicion of attempting to illegally cross the Russia border, as reported by the local Norwegian news site
the Barents Observer. This incident comes at a time when Medvedev had already sought asylum in Norway this year.
Norwegian police in Finnmark confirmed the incident, stating they had arrested a man attempting to cross the border at Grense Jakobselv, a small village in northeast Norway. Medvedev’s identity was not confirmed by the police. However, Medvedev’s Norwegian lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, intervened and confirmed to
Reuters Medvedev was the one detained.
According to Risnes, Medvedev’s detention ensued from a misunderstanding. He said, “[H]e 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).”
Medvedev had entered Norway earlier in January, seeking asylum when he fled Russia. In his earlier life in Russia, he had signed a contract with the Wagner Group and fought in Ukraine for four months as a commander. Medvedev’s contract with the Wagner Group was extended unilaterally for an additional six months just as it was about to expire. During this period, Medvedev was ordered to kill Ukrainian soldiers who were captured on behalf of Russia.
Following the extended time in the Wagner Group, Medvedev explicitly expressed his wish to return to Russia, aware of the potential dangers waiting for him. His
statement expressed his representation of himself as “some kind of a boy in a big game” he no longer wanted to be part of.
The ongoing case of Medvedev raises critical concerns about crossing borders, asylum-seeking and warfare contracts, which deserve close scrutiny from legal professionals around the globe.