A former Russian mercenary, slated to act as witness to the country’s paramilitary war crimes, was arrested in Norway over security concerns for the 26-year-old’s life. Andrey Medvedev, a former platoon commander who is believed to be the first defector to the West from the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner Group, claimed asylum in the nordic country earlier this month. He was holed up at a safe house but has since been moved to a detention center in Oslo, where he will be placed under increased security, according to his attorney Brynjulf Risnes. “This is what everyone wanted to avoid, but we are looking for solutions,” Risnes said, according to the BBC, while noting that his client was still being treated as a witness. Medvedev, who allegedly fears being brutally murdered if returned to Russia, has previously claimed he is willing to testify against senior members of the group that has been accused of undertaking deserter executions, torture and the rapes of civilians. On Friday, the White House said it plans to designate the group of shadow operatives as a “transnational criminal organization.”
