DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ An ex-Wagner boss was arrested in Norway after officials suspected he was trying to sneak back into Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ex-Wagner group commander was shot at and arrested by Norwegian police, Reuters reported. Police said Andrei Medvedev was trying to sneak back into Russia illegally. Medvedev abandoned Russia for Norway in January, claiming he feared for his life. Andrei Medvedev was shot at and arrested after authorities suspected he trying to cross the Russian border at an undesignated entry point on Saturday, Reuters reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementMedvedev abandoned Russia for Norway in January, claiming he feared for his life after witnessing the mistreatment of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Persons: Wagner, Andrei Medvedev, Medvedev, Brynjulf Risnes, Risnes, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Reuters, Police, Service Locations: Norwegian, Russia, Norway, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Ukraine, Belarus

Former Wagner commander Andrei Medvedev is pictured in court with his lawyer Brynjulf Risnes (not pictured), in Oslo, Norway April 25, 2023. Andrei Medvedev, who escaped Russia in January via its Arctic border with Norway, has described running as Russian guards fired shots at him. Police said in a statement late on Friday that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody for attempting to illegally cross the Russian border, but did not name him. It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia)," Risnes said. Risnes said Medvedev had the right to return to Russia if he wanted to, but that "a lot of changes need to happen" in order to make a safe return.

Persons: Wagner, Andrei Medvedev, Brynjulf Risnes, Gwladys, Risnes, Medvedev, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gwladys Fouche, Nerijus, Terje Solsvik Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Reuters, Russia, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, Rights OSLO, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Finnmark, Norwegian, Moscow

☆ Ex-Wagner commander who sought asylum in Norway wants to return to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nerijus Adomaitis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Former Wagner commander Andrei Medvedev is pictured in court with his lawyer Brynjulf Risnes (not pictured), in Oslo, Norway April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gwladys FoucheOSLO, May 17 (Reuters) - A former commander of Russia's Wagner group who sought asylum in Norway after crossing the Russian-Norwegian border in January said on Wednesday he wanted to return to Russia even though he believed this could pose a risk to his life. I've contacted the Russian embassy in Oslo for help, to facilitate my return," Medvedev said in one of five short videos, adding that he made this decision on his own. He escaped Russia via its Arctic border with Norway in January. He told Reuters at the time he was looking to the future, studying Norwegian and hoping to get asylum.

NTB/via REUTERSOSLO, April 25 (Reuters) - A former commander in Russia's Wagner mercenary group seeking asylum in Norway pleaded guilty on Tuesday to being involved in a fight outside an Oslo bar and carrying an air gun in public and said he felt "very ashamed." Medvedev pleaded guilty to fighting outside the Oslo bar on Feb. 22 and preventing a police officer from doing his or her duty. He also pleaded guilty to carrying an air gun in public on a separate occasion on March 14. He also said he had bought an air gun from a shop in Oslo for self-defence, because he feared somebody might attack him. Medvedev told Reuters in February he had fought in Ukraine, including in the region around Bakhmut, at the centre of months of fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces that have all but destroyed the city.

☆ Ex-Wagner commander witnessed comrades shot for fleeing, says his Norwegian lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Ilze Filks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OSLO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway has spoken about how he witnessed some of his comrades being shot as they were trying to flee from the frontline in Ukraine, his Norwegian lawyer told Reuters. His lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters that Medvedev had seen some "incredibly horrible" situations while he was fighting with Wagner last autumn. He had witnessed "the shooting of his comrades while he was watching because they tried to flee," Risnes said in an interview, citing Medvedev. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, millions uprooted and cities reduced to rubble since Russian forces invaded Ukraine 11 months ago. Other groups like the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Clooney Foundation were also interested in talking to Medvedev, his lawyer said.

☆ Russian Wagner mercenary commander detained in Norway
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Norwegian police have detained a former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who recently fled to Norway, but his lawyer dismissed suggestions that he might be deported to Russia. Medvedev said he had been detained and handcuffed on Sunday at a hotel where he was staying and taken to a detention center. Gulagu.netPolice had detained Medvedev as there was “disagreement” between them about the measures taken to ensure his safety, Risnes said. Gulagu.net said Medvedev would face “brutal murder and death” for speaking out against Wagner if he was returned to Russia. He has said he crossed the snowy Arctic Circle border into Norway, a NATO member, from Russia after climbing through barbed-wire fences and evading a border patrol with dogs.

☆ Norway detains former Wagner commander, denies any plan to deport him to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Former Wagner Group commander seeking asylum in NorwayPolice detained him amid disagreement on security measuresRussian rights group says he fears being deported to RussiaPolice, lawyer deny any plan to deport MedvedevOSLO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Norwegian police have detained a former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who recently fled to Norway, but denied suggestions that he might be deported to Russia. Medvedev said he had been detained and handcuffed on Sunday at a hotel where he was staying and taken to a detention centre. Gulagu.net said Medvedev would face "brutal murder and death" for speaking out against Wagner if he was returned to Russia. He has done many bad things in his life," the rights group said. He has said he crossed the snowy Arctic Circle border into Norway, a NATO member, from Russia after climbing through barbed-wire fences and evading a border patrol with dogs.

☆ Former Wagner commander seeks asylum in Norway after fleeing Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded Wagner, said that Medvedev had worked in a Norwegian unit of Wagner but had "mistreated prisoners". In interviews with Gulagu, Medvedev said he grew disaffected after his contract was repeatedly extended by Wagner without his consent. He said he had witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners who were brought to the front by Wagner. Medvedev said losses were very high after Wagner began sending large numbers of prisoners to the front in the second half of 2022. The Wagner statement did not address Medvedev's accounts of punishment and of battlefield losses, or that his contract was repeatedly extended.

☆ Former Russian mercenary commander fled to Norway and is willing to give evidence of its worst crimes in Ukraine, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former commander for the notorious Wagner Group fled Russia and is now seeking asylum in Norway. Andrey Medvedev left Russia fearful for his life after leaving the group, his lawyer told Insider. Risnes told Insider that Medvedev enlisted with the Wagner Group last summer. The Wagner Group, which is increasingly recruiting from Russian prisons, is alleged by a variety of organizations to have committed actions in Ukraine that would constitute war crimes. The Wagner Group has previously been deployed in Libya, Syria, and in other destinations across the world.

Search resuls for: "Risnes"

9 mentions found