"We have routinely been informed that she has applied for asylum," Trond Hugubakken, press spokesman at the Norwegian Police Security Service, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Kolotnytska left Libya in February due to the unrest and returned to Ukraine, where she stayed with her daughter and mother in a modest apartment in a 5-story building in the town of Brovary near Kiev. It is not known if her family went with her to Norway.
Kolotnytska is thought to have been a close confidant of Gadhafi. A United States diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks last year claimed the Libyan leader is deeply attached to her.
It described Kolotnytska as a "voluptuous blonde" and said she always traveled with Gadhafi as only she "knows his routine." The cable also suggested the two may have been romantically involved. Kolotnytska was one of four Ukrainian nurses who took care of the Libyan leader.
Norwegian immigration authorities declined to comment on Kolotnytska's application, but an experienced immigration lawyer, Arvid Humlen, said it was unlikely she would be granted asylum.
He did say, however, that Kolotnytska could be given permission to stay in Norway due to "additional threats" — such as the risk of being targeted by Libyan agents.
The Justice Ministry could also allow her to stay, Humlen said. "They might find that she has important information about Gadhafi that NATO can use."
AFP
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