A little after 08.30 on 11 October 1993, publishing manager William Nygaard rounds the corner at home in Dagaliveien in Oslo. He is shot with three bullets. Two are operated on at Ullevål hospital, the third goes straight through the body. The publisher survives. But the guilty are still walking free today, exactly 30 years later. Nygaard’s legal aid lawyer Hallvard Helle believes he has grounds to say that Kripos has now given advice to drop the case. – Unfortunately, it is not possible to understand this in any other way than that Kripos has decided on a closure. I have warned in a letter to the prosecuting authority that a closure would be both unacceptable and worthy of criticism, says Helle to news. – What do you base it on when you say that Kripos has decided to drop the case? – This is because in the five years that have passed since charges were brought against a former diplomat at the Iranian embassy in Oslo and a Lebanese with connections to Hezbollah, not a finger has been lifted to get in touch with the two accused. Nor are they wanted internationally. Helle believes that Kripos will drop the case without any attempt being made to interrogate the two who were charged just before the case became obsolete in 2018. Also read: Dropped, reopened and unsolved: The attempted murder that shook Norway. Lawyer Halvard Helle at the law firm Schjødt believes that Kripos has decided to drop the case about who shot William Nygaard. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news – Very disappointing The main character himself, William Nygaard, believes it will be very serious if the whole case ends up being closed. – As far as the case is concerned, it will be legally very disappointing, says Nygaard to news. – We can perhaps use the term scandal when we see the passivity that has characterized the investigation, he says. William Nygaard believes words such as scandal can be used if the investigation into who was behind the shots in Dagaliveien ends in closure. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news 30 years ago That 30 years have passed since the attempted murder was marked at the publisher Aschehoug on Wednesday. There, William Nygaard’s son Mads Nygaard said that in large parts of the world it is dangerous to be a publisher, but not in Norway. Except in the father’s case. – Freedom of expression is under pressure in several places in the world. This means that we must never forget such cases as with William. Because the alternative is totalitarian and authoritarian regimes that suppress free speech, said Mads Nygaard, who is now head of publishing. Åse Kleveland and publishing manager Mads Nygaard marked this morning that it had been 30 years since publishing manager William Nygaard was attempted to be killed outside his home. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news Hoping for a search The question is where the criminal case now stands, after a new investigation into the case was opened in 2009, following an order from the Attorney General. Kripos charged two people in 2018, who both deny having anything to do with the case. One was the Lebanese Khaled Moussawi, whom news tracked down in Lebanon two years ago. The other accused is an Iranian citizen who worked as first secretary at the Iranian embassy in Oslo. Former publishing manager William Nygaard and legal aid attorney Halvard Helle met today at the office, 30 years after the shootings in Dagaliveien. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news Halvard Helle hopes that Kripos will continue the investigation. – We assume that the chiefs of the public prosecutor’s office take up the case and instruct Kripos to continue the investigation, initially by calling for the two accused, says Helle to news. Kripos: – The investigation is finished Police prosecutor Anne Cecilie Dessarud confirms to news that the case has been sent for prosecutorial assessment at the Oslo state prosecutor’s office. Police attorney Anne Cecilie Dessarud confirms that the case has been fully investigated. Photo: Espen Aarsvold She will not say anything about whether the police recommend that the case be closed or whether charges are brought. State Attorney Lars Erik Alfheim confirms that he has received the case from Kripos. He says it normally takes around one month to decide on prosecution, but in more complicated and extensive cases it can take a little longer.
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30 years since the attempted murder of William Nygaard, fears the case will be dropped – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
