Norwegian police today announced the release of the former mercenary of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, who arrived in Norway about two weeks ago and was arrested on Sunday. Andrei Medvedev, 26, had been remanded in custody under the Immigration Law without police giving specific reasons, but his lawyer, Brynyulf Risnes, had cited “security breaches in relation to him” and said he was in an undisclosed location was detained after “tensions” with the police officers responsible for his protection.
“Of course there are many security measures and it is difficult for him to comply with them.” An Oslo police officer, Jon Andreas Johansen, said Medvedev was “released from the detention center for foreigners in Trandum on condition that he remain in a certain place”.
Many questions remain about his personality, his past and the circumstances of his escape. Many experts assume that the former mercenary could not cross the heavily guarded border without help. Since his arrival in Norway, Medvedev has been interrogated as a “witness” by the Kripo (Kripos), which is involved in investigating international war crimes in Ukraine. “He previously said that he was a member of the Wagner group and it is interesting for Kripos to collect more information about this period,” said the Kripos. Both the Norwegian security service and his lawyer ruled out extradition to Russia.
According to Risnes, his client had several USB sticks with him when he fled to Norway. In an interview with website The Insider in December, the young ex-mercenary said he was aware of 10 executions by Wagner of soldiers who refused to return to combat and said he had video footage of two of them being killed.
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