Andrej Medvedev crossed the border from Russia to Finnmark in Norway in January and was arrested there by the police. He applied for asylum and said he feared for his life.
His story of his defection and of war crimes committed by the Wagner group in the war of invasion in Ukraine attracted international interest and were seen as potentially important testimony.
The human rights organization Gulag.nu stated that Medvedev had a four-month contract in the Wagner group and that he fled from the war mission.
Visited consulate
Norwegian security police investigated the case at the same time.
On Thursday, the Norwegian news agency NTB received information confirmed that the 26-year-old Medvedev wants to return to Russia and that he visited the Russian consulate in Oslo.
Previously, Medvedev has said in a Youtube post that he wants to go to his home country, He has also said that he “no longer wants to be a pawn in a big game”.
But Medvedev’s lawyer Brynjulf Risnes writes in an SMS to NTB that “it seems to be a misunderstanding”.
“But unfortunately I know nothing about this.”
Be prepared to testify
In previous interviews with NTB, Medvedev has said that he was prepared to testify about Russian abuses.
Recent messages on social media suggest despair:
– I hoped to find peace and quiet here (in Norway), that I could leave politics, the wars, the military behind, but I haven’t managed it, he said in Russian in a post.
– We will see what happens in Russia. If they kill me, fine. If they don’t, thank you very much. If I may live even longer, thank you, he said.