– I want to speak now because I believe he has been pre-judged by the authorities and in the media. For the first time, Cathrine Østensvig Dale tells publicly about her brother: the 44-year-old has been labeled a terrorist by the powerful Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United States. He is the only Norwegian on the UN’s sanctions list for IS and Al Qaeda, internationally wanted and charged with terrorism. Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale traveled to Yemen in 2011. The police security service believes Dale became part of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). AQAP is Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The US has designated the Norwegian as particularly dangerous. They believe he can make bomb belts and other larger explosives, and that he is trained to carry out terror. And not only that: before the Summer Olympics in London in 2012, three security agencies sounded the alarm. They believed that the brother of Cathrine Østensvig Dale was waiting for orders to carry out terror in the West. – It is completely unreal for me. As far as I know, he has never picked up a weapon, never been violent. It just seems completely distant, she says to news. – It’s hard to imagine? – Yes. With this photo, Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale was internationally wanted via Interpol. Photo: Interpol Broke contact after the brother converted The siblings grew up on Nesodden outside Oslo. – He is a completely ordinary boy, as I know him. Kind, had friends with whom he had a good relationship. We were close in the family, close among the siblings. Dale worked in a kindergarten for a period. In 2008, the brother became a Muslim. Cathrine Østensvig Dale says he changed. – I couldn’t deal with him converting. It was such a big change that I couldn’t do it. So we broke off contact. – Was it the religion itself or a personal change in him that was difficult? – It was the big change that happened suddenly. Personally with him, says the sister. Shock message from PST From 2008, Dale traveled back and forth between Norway and Yemen. Cathrine Østensvig Dale says she had no contact with her little brother in the years that followed. In 2011 he went to Yemen for good, without her knowing why. A former acquaintance of Dale has told news that the Norwegian said he was going to the country to learn Arabic and Sharia. Then, about a year later, PST contacted Cathrine Østensvig Dale. In 2013, she was called in for questioning. Cathrine Østensvig Dale was shocked when she learned that her brother had been charged with terrorism. – As I know him, he is not a violent person. Not even close to thinking about something like that. So I couldn’t understand that. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news She learned that her brother had been charged with participation in a terrorist organisation. At this time, AQAP was considered very potent, and capable of carrying out terrorist attacks in the West. – It was a shock, of course. The fact that someone in my family would join something like that is beyond the pale. – Do you believe that? – I don’t know what to believe. I have a fundamental belief that the authorities know what they are doing. That they have reason to suspect. But it’s hard for me to believe that. In July 2014, the Norwegian was put on the US terror list. PST also spoke publicly about the charge. Cathrine Østensvig Dale tells of a media pressure like no other. – We were approached at home. Paparazzi conditions. It was absolutely too damned, she says. Called home suddenly For large periods, the Norwegian authorities have been confused about where the Norwegian has been. In 2014, PST admitted that they struggled to find out where Dale was. – He is not easy to locate. We have been doing this for a few years, acting assistant chief, Thomas Blom, in PST told news in 2014. In the center of Yemen is the province of Al Bayda. AQAP has been strong in this area. According to sources news has spoken to in Yemen, the Norwegian has also lived in this province, including in the district of Al Sawma’ah. Now he is in the country’s capital, Sana. Cathrine Østensvig Dale says there have been periods of complete silence from her brother. She thought he was dead. In Yemen, the US has waged an intense drone war against AQAP members. American Anwar Al Awlaki was an important ideologue in AQAP. He was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011, the same year Dale traveled to Yemen for the last time. Photo: HO / Afp That Dale has survived in a war-torn country for so many years has also surprised prominent experts on Yemen. But in December 2021, Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale suddenly called a family member in Norway. The Norwegian accused of terrorism said he was in prison and that he needed help. According to Dale himself, he was imprisoned in the summer of 2021. Dale has been arrested by the Houthi movement, which controls large parts of Yemen. This movement has been at war with the government of the country. For many years, the Houthis have had control over the country’s capital, Sana’a. Has said that he is partially paralyzed Anders Cameroon Østensvig Dale has said that he is in the so-called Shamlan prison in this city. Sources with contacts in Al Qaeda have previously told news that Dale was arrested after being injured on a battlefield. Cathrine Østensvig Dale says that her brother has called her three times: In October and December last year and in March this year. After the conversations, she has been questioned by PST. – In October we had a short conversation. It took place in English. It was characterized by haste. He had to say what he had to say quickly. He wants help to get home. It has then emerged that he has injuries for which he needs health care. – What injuries? – He said that he is partially paralyzed from the knee down to one leg. He has broken a wrist. And he’s injured in the shoulder. – What does your brother say about the charges against him? – He says that it is not true. That he has not done what he is accused of. – Has he been more specific than that? – No. He doesn’t really want to sit and defend himself on the phone to me. He believes that he has the right to explain himself to the Norwegian authorities. According to the sister, Dale has not been charged or sentenced in Yemen. Goes hard on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs In December 2021, the sister contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the first time. She then requested that her brother receive consular assistance. UD replied that the request had to come from Dale himself. In October 2022, he called his sister. He then confirmed that he wanted so-called consular assistance. Norwegians abroad have no legal claim to such assistance. According to Cathrine Østensvig Dale, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened a consular case, and said they will work on the case. Lawyer Patrick Lundevall-Unger is the defender of the Norwegian accused of terrorism. Lawyer Patrick Lundevall-Unger believes the client in Yemen needs urgent medical help. – I get the impression that the case is being pushed away, says the defender about the Norwegian authorities. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news He believes that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not active enough, and claims that “nothing” has been done in a year and a half. – I think the way the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has handled the case has been a mockery of my client and the family. UD excels with its absence, says the defender. – Dale is on the UN sanctions list, on the US terror list and he is charged with terrorism in Norway. Why is he going back? – He is badly injured, and that is the reason why he has the right to come home. It is not about why he went to Yemen, why he may have joined an unrecognized group or whether he had concrete plans, says Lundevall-Unger to news. – Dale is in a part of Yemen that is not under government control. The Foreign Ministry has no official contact with the Houthi movement. How do you think this handover could happen in practice? – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the opportunity to work with so-called subcontractors who operate for the Houthi movement. They want to assist. It is practically possible to get my client home, says Lundevall-Unger. Ministry of Foreign Affairs: – Great understanding The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not wish to be interviewed about the matter. Communications manager Tuva Raanes Bogsnes writes in an e-mail to news that consular matters are subject to confidentiality, and that the Foreign Ministry cannot therefore go into detail: “We fully understand that this situation is difficult for both the Norwegian and his family. (…) The Norwegian authorities’ travel advice to Yemen is at the highest level, advising against all travel to and staying in the country, and encouraging Norwegian citizens who are in Yemen to leave the country. Against this background, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has very limited opportunities to provide consular assistance in Yemen.” Incomprehensible journey Cathrine Østensvig Dale says her brother’s journey is just as incomprehensible to her as to most others. She understands those who believe that her brother has turned his back on Norway, and that resources should not be spent on him. – I can understand that, but we still haven’t heard his side. We don’t know what happened here. I have not been presented with any evidence that makes me think: “There is no way out here,” concludes the sister. Cathrine Østensvig Dale has experienced tremendous media pressure, but still wants to talk to news now. – I cannot live with the fact that I know he is in prison without me doing something, she says. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news
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– It was a shock – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
