Denmark: In custody on suspicion of entering Norway illegally is a former senior member of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group who was seeking asylum there, according to authorities on Monday.
According to Jon Andreas Johansen of the Norwegian immigration police, Russian Andrey Medvedev "has been arrested under the Immigration Act and it is being assessed whether he should be produced for detention." His detention is being used as a security measure, not as a punishment, according to Norway's VG newspaper.
Medvedev, who claims he fears for his life if he returns to Russia, is thought to have entered Norway illegally earlier this month after travelling across its 198 km (123 mi) border with Russia.
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Vladimir Osechkin of the Russian dissident organisation Gulagu.net, which assisted Medvedev in leaving Russia, claimed that he had been in a safe house under guard before being abruptly transferred to a secured immigration facility.
Brynjulf Risnes, Medvedev's Norwegian attorney, insisted to broadcaster NRK that his client is not under suspicion for any crime and that he is unaccustomed to Norway's new, more stringent security measures for him.
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There have been significant security measures put in place. They are difficult for Medvedev to adapt to, Risnes told NRK. Medvedev claimed in a video posted by Gulagu that he was shot at by Russian soldiers before entering the Scandinavian nation. According to Norwegian police, Russian border guards alerted them to tracks in the snow that might indicate an unauthorised crossing.
The National Criminal Investigation Service of Norway is questioning Medvedev because he "has the status of a witness" in the Ukrainian war crimes investigation. The former fighter spoke to investigators on Friday, according to Osechkin.
According to Gulagu.net, Medvedev, who has been on the run since leaving the Wagner Group, said he is prepared to divulge all the information he has about the dubious paramilitary organisation and its owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Medvedev, he left the Wagner Group after his contract was unconsensually extended beyond the period of July to November. He denied taking part in any war crimes but stated that he would be willing to testify about any that he saw.
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The Wagner Group, which has led attacks against Ukrainian forces, has a sizable proportion of prisoners drawn from Russian jails. The group's influence in Africa has grown steadily.