That’s what assistant lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt says. news was able to reveal yesterday that five days before the June 25 shooting, the Norwegian Intelligence Service notified PST that an attack could be “imminent”. They believed that the Arfan Bhatti community was behind it. Just hours before the shooting, they also found a Facebook profile where Bhatti incited hatred of gays and posted a picture of a burning rainbow flag. All this was passed on to PST. – How is it possible that those responsible, according to what has been documented, did nothing at all? Here there must have been neglect upon neglect, by individuals or by the agencies, says Klomsæt to news. Klomsæt says it is incomprehensible how the services did nothing. – All alarm bells should have rung, he says. Lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt is the legal counsel for 15 of the victims in the terrorist case on 25 June 2022. – Their trust in the police, PST, the intelligence service has suffered a serious break which may be difficult to restore, Klomsæt tells news. Photo: Pål Tegnander / news – Must get the truth The aggrieved are now demanding that the facts and the truth come to the table, says Klomsæt. – The Special Unit for Police Affairs should step in on its own initiative to clarify whether these neglects are also punishable, says Klomsæt. – If what has emerged in recent months is correct, we are faced with neglect upon neglect from agencies whose first priority is to ensure citizens’ safety. Two people were shot and killed during the attack. Klomsæt represents 15 of the victims, two of whom were hit by gunfire. – Everyone knew that there was a pride event in Oslo in those days, with thousands of queers and also others supporting them in their celebration of tolerance and respect. PST tells news that they do not want to comment on questions related to the attack ahead of the publication of the Evaluation Committee’s report on 8 June. Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness Emilie Enger Mehl writes, via her communications adviser Linda Hafstad, that she understands that many people want more answers in this matter, but she is waiting to comment on the matter until next week. – Now the Evaluation Committee will deliver its report next Thursday, 8 June, I will thoroughly familiarize myself with it when it arrives. It is wrong to draw conclusions about the report’s content now, when it arrives on Thursday 8 June. – The e-service’s contribution to PST’s information base before 25 June last year is part of the Evaluation Committee’s mandate, and will be assessed in the evaluation. Relevant written information has been sent to the Evaluation Committee, writes Mehl. The e-service sent messages with Islamists It was on 20 June PST received a so-called “request for information” from the Intelligence Service (E-service). This is what has previously been referred to as the warning. This is the way the secret services communicate with each other in writing. The warning stated that a Norwegian Islamist had told about a terrorist attack being planned. The Islamist is in the circle around Arfan Bhatti, and the E-service had a secret operation in which an agent sent messages with the Islamist. The information that the E-service shared with PST originates from these conversations, but PST did not know about this when they were notified. news’s crime commentator, Olav Rønneberg, thinks this does not look good for PST. Will request an external investigation The committee that investigated the 25 June shooting will deliver its report this week. The intelligence service is not part of what is being investigated. The opposition in the Storting is critical of this. Sveinung Stensland in the Conservative Party is considering asking for an external investigation of the Norwegian Intelligence Service and PST this week. Photo: Ingeborg Undheim / news Høyre’s justice policy spokesperson Sveinung Stensland has previously stated that Justice Minister Emilie Mehl’s investigation of the services is flawed and does not inspire confidence. Now he tells news that he does not rule out that he will ask for an external investigation. – I will wait and see the investigation report on Thursday before I comment further. I do not rule out that I will ask for an external investigation, he says. – The good thing is that the Storting’s own control committee for the secret services, the EOS committee, has launched an investigation of the e-service in this case. After all, this is the committee whose task is to monitor how Norway’s secret services do their job, says Stensland. Per-Willy Amundsen has also called for an external investigation in which the National Intelligence Service is also involved. – If the Minister of Justice himself does not take the initiative for an external investigation in which the intelligence service is also involved, the Frp will put forward a proposal about this in the Storting, said Per-Willy Amundsen (Frp) to news in May. – In Norway, it is the Storting and the EOS committee that carry out independent control of, among other things, PST and the E-service. I am aware that the EOS committee is looking into this matter, writes Mehl to news.
ttn-69
– All alarm bells should have rung – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
