Ex-Wagner commander arrested in Norway for attempting return to Russia

But Medvedev's arrest was due to a misunderstanding, his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters.

"He was up there to see if he could find the place where he crossed (into Norway in January). He was stopped when he was in a taxi. He was never near the border ... It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia)," Risnes said.

At the time of his arrival in Norway, Medvedev said he was seeking asylum because he feared for his life after witnessing the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners brought to the frontline in Ukraine.

His escape in January made headlines around the world as a rare example at the time of someone defecting to a Western country while claiming to have fought for Russia as a mercenary in the Ukraine war.

But in May, he said in a video posted on YouTube he wanted to return to Russia even though he believed this could pose a risk to his life, describing himself as "some kind of a boy in a big game" that he no longer wanted to be part of.