This is what police attorney Børge Enoksen writes in an e-mail to news. – The preliminary analyzes of the shooting itself mean that the police have as of now defined a total of 171 people as offended in the case. Here, one of the criteria is how close the person in question has been to one or more firing ranges. Police prosecutor Børge Enoksen at the Oslo police district. Photo: Camilla Svennæs Bergland / news – Is the increase directly linked to an analysis of the shooting itself? – Yes, a preliminary analysis of the shooting combined with information from witnesses about their location, Enoksen replies. Armed with a submachine gun and a pistol, Zaniar Matapour shot at guests at two nightclubs in the center of Oslo on 25 June. Two people were killed and 21 injured. Matapour is charged with murder committed with terrorist intent. Previously, there were 107 victims. The number is now 171. – It’s a stroke of luck that no more people died. At the same time, the Borgarting Court of Appeal will now decide how many of the victims in the case will be appointed legal counsel. The defense lawyers in the case believe that everyone who was present, or close to what the police are investigating as an act of terrorism, should be appointed a defense lawyer in order to have their basic rights safeguarded. So far, 37 applications to get legal assistance have been refused by the Oslo District Court. These have been appealed further to the Court of Appeal. – I perceive what the Oslo district court is doing now as incorrect law, I perceive it as offensive and shameful, says aid lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt to news. Assistant lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt. Photo: Berit Roald – It is random who was hit and who was not. That no more people died than is the case I perceive as more of a stroke of luck. Head of department Ina Strømstad at the Oslo district court says the district court has made an assessment of each individual case, but that not all victims are entitled to legal aid under the law. – It is the legislature that decides who is entitled to legal assistance. That the case is serious is not enough in itself. That is why some restrictions have been set up for who is entitled to legal assistance, says Strømstad to news. Head of department Ina Strømstad at the Oslo District Court. Photo: Jorunn Hatling / news – These are the community’s funds and then it is up to the legislature to decide what they will be used for, says Strømstad. She emphasizes that victims who do not have a legal representative have the same right to information in the case, the same right to health care and the same right to submit compensation claims. Must not participate in detention meetings In a transmission letter from the Oslo District Court, it appears that the court has limited the assignment to the assistance lawyers appointed for the aggrieved. The court believes that it is not necessary for the defense attorneys to go thoroughly into all investigative material in the case, such as reading all, or many of, the more than 200 interviews that have been conducted so far. The public prosecutors must also not work to ask the police to carry out more investigative steps, or participate in custody meetings or other court rounds during the investigation. This causes Sigurd Klomsæt, who is the legal counsel for several of the victims in the case, to react. – It is something completely new. I think that is completely wrong. It is often in such court hearings where a legal explanation is given and where you also get to meet the person concerned, hear how he expresses himself, in what way and so on and so on. Klomsæt points out that, as a legal aid lawyer during the 22 July case, he was in one of the first prison meetings for the terrorist Anders Behring-Breivik in 2011. – It was something you don’t forget, very special and useful, and having information to pass on to the for whom you were a solicitor, says Klomsæt. Until now, there have been no physical detention meetings in the case because terrorist suspect Zaniar Matapour has agreed to detention. – It is rare for legal aid lawyers to be present at detention meetings because it is a meeting about the accused’s stay in continued detention, about which the legal aid lawyer gets good information through the ruling the court issues afterwards, says department head Ina Strømstad at the Oslo District Court. New from this summer There is a change in the law that came into force on 1 July, which gives the District Court the opportunity to limit the actual assignment of what the legal aid attorneys must do and not do. – In the past, the legal aid lawyers have risked doing work which the district court has subsequently assessed was not reasonable and necessary, ergo for which they have not been paid. Whereas now we have the opportunity to already give the signals in advance of what work is necessary, because it is the district court that assesses that, says Strømstad. None of the solicitors have chosen to appeal the district court’s decision. Sigurd Klomsæt says they can take this after a possible trial, not now. – That discussion will probably come and then there will be an argument about the bill and payment. But I’ll take it when it comes. I am not unaccustomed to having cost tasks reduced because some people think that you are too conscientious. I rather take that as an honor. So far, the police have defined 171 people as offended in the case. Of these, 24 had been appointed legal counsel last week. Everyone who received gunshot wounds and the 12 who actively participated in the arrest of the perpetrator must have been given legal assistance. Hi! Do you have any input for us? Do you know anything more about this case? We are working with the mass shooting in Oslo, and are always interested in new information about the case. Feel free to contact us by e-mail if you know anything or have input.
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