A former commander of Russia's private Wagner paramilitary militia who recently fled to Norway has been detained by police, an official said today. A Russian human rights group said the man was told he would be deported to Russia, Reuters reported. .

"He is in custody... and we are considering whether to seek a court order for internment," Linne Isaksen of the police's legal team told the agency, declining to give further details.

However, according to Andrey Medvedev's Norwegian lawyer, there is practically no chance that his client will be deported to Russia.

"The risk of him being deported? It's zero," Brinyulf Risnes told Reuters succinctly.

Andrei Medvedev is a former commander in the Wagner Group, which fought for Russia in the war in Ukraine. He escaped by crossing the Russian-Norwegian border and said he feared for his life after witnessing the killing and abuse of Russian prisoners brought to the front line in Ukraine to fight in the ranks of the militia.

ISW: The rivalry between Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry is growing

Gulag.net - a Russian group that campaigns for prisoners' rights and is in contact with Medvedev - said he was detained and handcuffed on Sunday night and told he would be taken to a detention center. detention and later deported.

Norwegian authorities have not confirmed they will deport him, Reuters said.

The police have not commented on the case.

The rights group said Medvedev would face "brutal murder and death" for speaking out against Wagner if returned to Russia.

"We do not exonerate Medvedev. He has done many bad things in his life," said the human rights organization.

"However, he has seen the light, he has realized this, he is ready and willing to cooperate with the world, with the international investigation and with the Norwegian authorities, he wants to live and testify" against Wagner and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, it said. further in the message.

Medvedev is an orphan who joined the Russian army and served a prison sentence before joining Wagner last July on a four-month contract, which he says the group has since repeatedly extended without his consent.

He said he crossed the snow-covered border with Norway from Russia into the Arctic Circle after climbing barbed-wire fences and evading border patrol dogs.