– It’s a scandal, says aid lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt to news about the extradition of Arfan Bhatti. He represents several of the victims of the shooting in Rosenkrantz’ gate in Oslo on 25 June. Over a year has passed since the well-known Islamist Arfan Bhatti was internationally wanted in connection with the mass shooting. Klomsæt believes that the PST should have monitored Bhatti more closely in advance of the attack. He refers to the report that last summer gave PST a hard time about the handling of the notification they received that Arfan Bhatti was probably involved in a possible terrorist attack in Norway. Assistant lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt. Photo: Terje Haugnes / news – You had to do activities at the time. The person concerned is a person who should receive first attention from the authorities, according to what was already known about him, says Klomsæt. Bhatti has been in Pakistan since the beginning of June 2022. Since the middle of April this year, there have been at least 18 court hearings where Bhatti’s case has been investigated, a review by news shows. But a decision can wait. Thursday’s court hearing, like several of the previous court hearings, was a quick affair, and ended with an adjournment until 3 October. Not extradited Arfan Bhatti was probably arrested in Pakistan on 26 September last year, and over the past year Norway has tried to have him extradited. Shortly after he was charged on 29 August of the same year, court requests were sent for his arrest and extradition to Norway. The Norwegian-Pakistani Islamist is charged with complicity in serious terrorism, complicity in murder, complicity in attempted murder, terrorist organization and murder. Three others, including perpetrator Zaniar Matapour, are also charged in the case. Bhatti has maintained his innocence in all court hearings in Pakistan. His Pakistani lawyer, Zia Ur Rehman, believes the evidence Norwegian police have sent Pakistani police is far too weak to have him extradited. In a court hearing earlier this week, Rehman pointed out what he believes are deficiencies in the Norwegian investigation documents: – The Norwegian police have sent transcripts and screenshots of chat conversations between two anonymous people. They in no way prove that any of those people are my clients, he said and continued: – The Norwegian police have not sent technical evidence that confirms that the transcript and screenshots of the chat conversation are authentic, which the Pakistani Supreme Court requires. The police are silent about the process news has asked police prosecutor Ingvild Myrold of the Oslo police a number of questions about the extradition case in Pakistan. Among other things, Myrold has been asked about defense counsel Rehman’s claims, about how much faith the police have in Bhatti being extradited, and why the police themselves are not present in Pakistan. She has sent news a statement by e-mail: Ingvild Myrold is a police attorney in the Oslo Police. Photo: Sverre Holm-Nilsen / news – The Oslo police district visited Pakistan last autumn in connection with court requests. The police are experiencing good cooperation between the Norwegian and Pakistani authorities and hope that there will soon be a development in the case. We respect the thorough legal process that is ongoing. The public prosecutor and the attorney general are now considering bringing charges against Zaniar Matapour, and dealing with the cases of Bhatti and the other two accused separately. – The terrorist case is still under investigation and we cannot go into detail about what specific information has been shared with the Pakistani authorities, writes Myrold. news has also been in contact with PST, which does not wish to comment on this matter. Complicated without an extradition agreement Political adviser Gerald Folkvord at Amnesty says extradition in criminal cases is complicated – especially when the countries do not have an extradition agreement. Norway and Pakistan do not have it. – The Pakistani legal system is also not independent in the same way as in Norway. There are political considerations to be taken. The extradition of a man who is wanted for terrorism in a Western country can create debate. The authorities will take that into account, says Folkvord to news. He points out that there is no uniform definition of terrorism internationally. – The fact that there is no agreed understanding of what a terrorist actually is makes these cases difficult. By extraditing Bhatti to Norway for terrorism, Pakistan must agree to the Norwegian definition. Little faith in extradition Assistance lawyer Christian Lundin represents 136 of the victims after the terrorist attack. – I note that the process is, as far as applicable, dragging on in time. Many of the people I talk to react to the fact that it takes a long time, but I don’t know the explanation for that, says Lundin. At the same time, he emphasizes that all his 136 clients are not of the same opinion. – Do you think Bhatti will be extradited to Norway? – I don’t know enough about the process down there. I don’t know the Pakistani legal system, but from what I understand, the Norwegian authorities are doing their best to get him extradited, he says to news. However, public prosecutor Klomsæt is beginning to lose faith that Bhatti can appear in a Norwegian courtroom, charged with the attack in Oslo. – What confidence do you have in Bhatti being extradited? – Very small. – Why? – He has both Norwegian and Pakistani citizenship. A year has already passed, and from what I understand nothing is happening, says Klomsæt. At the same time, the aid lawyer urges Arfan Bhatti to allow himself to be extradited to Norway: – If he is sure of his innocence and has confidence in a fair trial in Norway, he has little to fear. In my opinion, he should have respect for the survivors and survivors by coming to give his account of the facts that he believes to be correct. Tip news’s crime group: Do you have information about this case or other crime cases? Contact news’s crime group. You can tip us off by e-mail or through news’s encrypted notification service. Here you can tip us anonymously. We also treat all tips confidentially, in line with the Vær varsom poster’s rules on source protection.
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Aid attorney has “very little faith” in Bhatti extradition – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
