– It provoked me a lot because Sarpsborg should be a safe city for everyone, says Sindre Martinsen-Evje. He is mayor of Sarpsborg, and has reacted strongly to the weekend’s incident where a man with a rainbow ribbon was subjected to serious violence at a nightclub. Several have contacted the mayor and expressed concern. Many are scared. Martinsen-Evje now believes it is important to be signaled that people in Sarpsborg must not be afraid of being assaulted as a result of their orientation. – Now we as a large society must also show that we are there for them and care about them, says the mayor. He believes the police must have time to investigate the case, and that the municipality must work preventively so that such episodes of violence do not occur in the future. The police suspect more The police in Sarpsborg are now investigating the case, and state that they have several named suspects, who they will follow up in the next few days. – We have a useful idea about the course of events and the reason why this happened, without me being able to comment on it further now, says section leader for investigation in Sarpsborg Daniel Holm. He is serious about the fact that several people have jointly carried out the act. But believe that it does not appear as a planned action. – We have also received information that there may be hate crimes related to sexual orientation, but this has not been fully investigated. In that case, there is an aggravating factor that will have a significance in a possible lawsuit. Daniel Holm is section leader for investigation in Sarpsborg. He is serious about several people committing the act of violence. Photo: Rune Fredriksen / news The Pride bracelet has become more important – It is frightening that this will happen in 2022. We should have come further in society, says Aleksander Eide. He is a board member of a pride organization in the neighboring town of Fredrikstad. Eide thinks the situation should be taken seriously. – Pride should be about love and diversity, not violence. It is important that security is good so that violent incidents like this do not happen. Aleksander Eide from Fredrikstad is a board member of Pride Fredrikstad. He believes society should have come further in 2022. Photo: Jonas Karlsen / news Eide reckons that people who celebrate pride are afraid. One week ago he bought a Pride bracelet. It has become more important for the 28-year-old after the incident. – Both the bracelet and the flag have become more important after what happened. The man who was subjected to violence and shouted insults after also wore a similar bracelet.
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