COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian police unit that investigates war crimes said Tuesday that it desires to talk over with a Russian asylum-seeker who reportedly is a former high-ranking member of the private Russian military contractor Wagner Group.
Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, which takes part within the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court, said it was in touch with Andrey Medvedev and his Norwegian lawyer and “would really like to conduct an interrogation of him within the near future. Medvedev has the status of a witness.”
Last week, Medvedev, who says he’s fears for his life, fled to Norway where he sought asylum. In a video posted by the Russian dissident group Gulagu.net, Medvedev said he got here under Russian gunfire before he crossed into the Scandinavian country.
Medvedev explained he had left the Wagner after his contract, initially from July to November, was prolonged without his consent, and was willing to testify about any war crimes he witnessed and denied he had participated in any.
Within the video interview with France-based Gulagu, the ex-fighter says he feared experiencing the identical fate as one other recruit whose head was reportedly smashed in by a sledgehammer by the Wagner Group in a public execution. In a segment apparently filmed before he fled Russia, he asks for help from Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, amongst others. Gulagu’s Vladimir Osechkin said that Medvedev and one other man reached out for assist in December.
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“He himself has said that he has been a part of the Wagner Group, and it’s interesting for the National Criminal Investigation Service to get more details about this era,” the Norwegian police said in a press release.
Last week, police in Arctic Norway said an individual had illegally entered from Russia by crossing the border, which is 198 kilometers (123 miles) long.
The person was detained by Norwegian border guards and the arrest was undramatic, police said, adding that he went to a personal house within the border area and asked for help. Police in Norway said that they’d been notified late Thursday by Russian border guards who discovered traces within the snow that might indicate that somebody had crossed the border illegally.
The Wagner Group, owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire with ties to Putin, includes a lot of convicts recruited in Russian prisons who’ve spearheaded attacks in the war with Ukraine. The group has has turn into increasingly influential in Africa, where it has been pushing Russian disinformation, constructing alliances with governments and getting access to oil, gas, gold, diamonds and invaluable minerals.
Lori Hinnant contributed to this report from Paris.
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