Lawyer reacts to the prison conditions of Norwegian-Palestinian accused of terrorism – news Dokumentar

In a street stub in Paris, this week there was an official memorial service for the victims of the massacre of guests at the Jewish restaurant Jo Goldenberg. Six people died and 22 were injured when armed men shot at those who happened to be at the restaurant on 9 August 1982. A Norwegian-Palestinian is in prison, accused in the 40-year-old terror case. The unsolved case has been a trauma for the victims, but also for the French authorities. The security measures around the small street stub in the Jewish quarter were extensive. Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti laid a wreath on behalf of the government. – Today, all of France bows its head. This happened 40 years ago, but it is as if it happened, he said. – Today, France bows its head to what happened 40 years ago, said Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP – Unbearable For the first time, the French authorities participated in the ceremony. – The government’s involvement is important to us. We have long felt that the attack was not part of the collective memory in France, but only for the Jews, says Yonathan Arfi to news. He is head of CRIF, the joint organization for Jews in France. – But above all, we hope that this ceremony contributes to the case finally coming to court. It is unbearable for the families, but also for the Jewish community in general, that the matter does not come up. He also believes that it is untenable that the suspects other than the Norwegian citizen are still at large. – Those charged with terrorism must be extradited, says the head of the joint organization of Jews in France, Yonathan Arfi. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP Worried daughter in Skien It caused considerable attention when Norwegian-Palestinian Abou Zayed was charged and extradited to France in December 2020. Only this summer, after 18 months in custody, was he allowed to speak to his roommate and their four children in Norway. – I don’t understand why it is taking so long. I sincerely hope that the case will soon either be dismissed or come before the court, says Zayed’s daughter Mona Osman. She is worried about her father’s health, and believes in his innocence. – The worst thing is the uncertainty and the waiting time, she says. Mona Osman reads a letter from her father. – I don’t understand how they can keep him in custody for so long, she says. Photo: Sindre Thoresen Lønnes / news There is considerable prestige attached to the terrorist case. A renewed investigation led to demands for the extradition of four people. Two from Jordan, one from the Palestinian Authority, and one from Norway. Only Norway has agreed to the demand for extradition. – I expected that the French authorities had progressed so far in the investigation that the case would quickly come before the court, says Mona Osman. She wonders why it is taking so long, and how long the French authorities can keep her father in custody for an incident that happened 40 years ago. The Norwegian-Palestinian was escorted out of Norway to prison in Paris on this plane on 4 December 2020. Photo: news – Statlig hevn Two French lawyers defend the Norwegian-Palestinian. They have protested against isolation and demanded progress in the case. – Terrorism is answered through the rule of law. This looks like state revenge, says lawyer Romain Ruiz to news. . They believe that the prestige of the case endangers the rule of law. – Justice in anti-terrorism does not consist in pleasing society, the victims or their heirs. – Terrorism is answered through the rule of law, and not through a state that seeks revenge, says lawyer Romain Ruiz. Photo: Kristoffer Sandberg Traumatic Guy Benarousse was 16 when the terrorists struck. He was walking in the street outside the restaurant when the perpetrators fled the scene and shot at everyone who was there. He hid in a gate room, but was hit by one of the bullets and injured in the leg. Guy Benarousse (16) photographed in the hospital bed after the massacre in 1982. Photo: private – The passing of time only makes it worse. The victims die, but we have to get a trial, he says. He has followed most terrorist cases closely, and is impressed by the legal process following the terror attack on Utøya. – There were probably many who wanted to lynch the perpetrator. But as in any civilized country, it became a trial. Several years ago he went to the police to look at pictures of the suspects. He recognized the man who shot at him. It was someone other than Skiensmannen who is now imprisoned. Every year he dreads August 9. – My brain is blocked on that date and I react every time I hear a bang, he says. Guy Benarousse survived the massacre and demands that the accused be extradited and brought to justice. Photo: Lafargue Raphael/ABACA / Aba 70 shots The massacre happened in the middle of lunchtime. The time was 1:15 p.m. Around fifty guests dined at the Goldenberg restaurant in the Jewish quarter of Paris. Suddenly the door was torn open. A man in a light summer suit threw in a hand grenade. In the panic that followed, he and another entered the premises. They shot wildly around with automatic weapons. An Arab waiter tried to protect the customers but fell to his death. A woman managed to save herself by jumping out of a window. 70 shots were fired. They then went out to two others who were waiting outside. All four calmly walked on towards a waiting car, shooting at passers-by along the way. The entire attack took three minutes. Six were killed and 22 wounded. Six people died and 22 were injured in the massacre at the French restaurant in 1982. Photo: JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP Arrest order Mona Osman from Skien was not born when the terror struck. She was shocked when the police turned up outside her father’s house in 2015. After renewed investigation, French police believed they could prove that four members connected to the Palestinian organization ANO, led by Abu Nidal, were behind it. France issued an arrest warrant. But the petition was rejected. At the time, Norway did not have an agreement that allowed them to extradite citizens for conditions that were time-barred according to Norwegian law. As soon as the new Arrest Warrant Act came into force in 2019, a new extradition request came to Norway. After several rounds in Norwegian courts, Abou Zayed was extradited in December 2020. Since then he has been in custody in France. Abou Zayed made the v sign in court when the extradition request from France was processed. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB Second place? The Norwegian-Palestinian risks becoming the only defendant in the criminal case. One of the other suspects is dead. The two survivors live in Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority claims they have no administration that would make extradition possible. – But they manage to accept money, says Guy Benarousse. He does not understand why someone should be protected 40 years later. – If we are second-class citizens, we need to know that, he says. He believes that there has been a completely different legal process after the attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the terrorist attack on the Bataclan and a number of other French targets in 2015. Jonathan Arfi is also concerned about this. – France must pressure the Palestinian Authority and Jordan so that the accused can be extradited. We will not achieve anything without political and diplomatic pressure, he says. He points out that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was in Paris two weeks ago, without it leading to anything. Uncertain outcome Lawyer Ole Martin Meland represented Abou Zayed in Norway. He is very critical of the long detention and the long-term visiting and telephone ban, and believes that it puts the extradition in a new perspective. – Here, Norway violates human rights with open eyes, he says. Mona Osman has finally received permission to visit her father. But she has doubts, as the lawyers have advised her not to do this. They believe that she may be pressured to testify in France. The children refused to testify when they were asked about this a long time ago. In Norway, there is no obligation to testify for relatives. – Besides, we have nothing to contribute. We weren’t born when this happened, says Osman. Mona Osman looks at the newspaper front pages about her father. Photo: Sindre Thoresen Lønnes The ambassadors This summer, Abou Zayed was visited in prison for the first time by a representative of the Norwegian embassy. Ambassador Niels Engelschiøn was also present during the commemoration, together with the ambassadors from the USA and Israel. – There was a lot of bitterness among those left behind, he says. – They were satisfied with the Norwegian extradition, but wondered how it was going to go as the other suspects were not extradited, he said. Abou Zayed has spent 18 months in custody in this prison in Paris. It is unknown if and when the case will come up. Photo: BERTRAND GUAY / AFP



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