From Reuters:
“Norway police to continue interrogation of former Wagner
commander”
(Andrei Medvedev, a former commander of Russia's Wagner
mercenary group poses for a picture during an interview in Oslo, Norway
February 1, 2023.)
Norwegian police said on Friday they intend to continue to
interrogate former Wagner mercenary group commander Andrei Medvedev, who fled
from Russia to Norway last month after fighting in the war in Ukraine. Medvedev,
who earlier this week told Reuters he was speaking out to help ensure the
perpetrators of crimes are brought to justice, has handed "some digital
material" to police, Kripos, Norway's national criminal police service,
said in a statement. The material was being examined, added Kripos. Kripos is
the unit of the Norwegian police which has responsibility for investigating war
crimes. Medvedev remains a witness, and is not under any obligation to talk to
investigators, Kripos said. Medvedev is not suspected of anything apart from
the illegal border crossing. "Medvedev gives the impression that he wants
to continue to say more" about his time with Wagner, police said. Security
arrangements have also been made for Medvedev's safety, "both visible and
non-visible" measures, it added, without giving specifics.
Wagner forces have been locked in a bloody battle of
attrition against Ukrainian forces in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. During
the Reuters interview on Wednesday, Medvedev cited one incident in which he
said he witnessed two people who did not want to fight being shot dead in front
of newly released convicts who had been enrolled in Wagner. Asked about other
incidents he witnessed, he said he could not comment on them at this stage due
the Norwegian police's investigations. Reuters was not immediately able to
verify his assertions. Wagner has said Medvedev had worked in a "Norwegian
unit" of Wagner and had "mistreated prisoners". "Be
careful, he's very dangerous," the group said in an emailed statement to
Reuters on Thursday, reiterating previous comments made about Medvedev by
Wagner's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
^ He may be guilty of crimes inside Ukraine, but he is also a
wealth of information on understanding the Wagner Group and its countless
crimes. ^
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