– This case has cost me over four million. There are so many doubts in the case that I believe I would have been acquitted if it had been in Norway. Just over two years after Ameen was stopped by a civilian police car in Denmark in his new Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, the case is still not over. It was VG who discussed the latest developments in the case first. Ameen believes that the civilian police car had measured him at 150–160 km/h, but the police believe that he had been measured earlier, and that he should then have been up to over 230 km/h. In Denmark, the authorities can impound the cars of those driving over 200 km/h. – They have measured one car that drove at 236 km/h. There are no recordings or other evidence. I was never stopped at any checkpoints. It was word for word, and in the trials only the police have testified against me. But I knew I was never going to win in Denmark, says Ameen to news. Shakhwan Ameen runs a car workshop in Stavanger on a daily basis. Photo: private When news discussed the case in June, the head of the Emergency Police (UP) in Norway, Knut Smedrud, said: – The law was created precisely to be able to react to extreme events. Very few drive at more than 200 kilometers per hour and at twice the legal speed. They are the ones for whom the law is meant, not the common man in the street. Ameen received 20 days in prison, six years’ deportation from Denmark, loss of driving license for three years, and thus the Lamborghini confiscated. Was going to sell the supercar, Ameen lost the case in two courts in Denmark, and earlier in December he was told that the Supreme Court had rejected the case. – They have some principles about the kind of cases they take up. They did not think this case met the requirements, he says. VG writes that the case was rejected because it “is not of a principled nature” or contains “special reasons”. The newspaper further writes that cases have previously been taken up because “special reasons” may be that seizures can be financially very intrusive. Ameen states that he bought the car for 286,000 euros in Germany and had taken loans from friends and family to buy it. Ameen, who runs a workshop in Stavanger on a daily basis, had plans to take the car with him to Norway and sell it at a profit. The car should now have increased in value even further, and according to Ameen would be worth close to four million kroner today. But instead of a gain, both the car and the money he has spent to get it back can be lost. – But I will not give up. I want a fair verdict. I want to try the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg, says Ameen. – Several witnesses The Stavanger man is represented by lawyer Arvid Sjødin, who will now try to get the case up for consideration in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). – In Norway, there is a legal principle that it must be proven beyond any reasonable doubt, otherwise the defendant’s explanation must be taken as the basis, he says. Sjødin believes that there have been several mistakes in the case. – And then there are witnesses who have contacted me directly. They think it is strange that the police believe that he has driven so fast, as several people have driven alongside him and filmed him. In addition, the financial is a circumstance. It is an incredibly high price he pays for driving too fast. You have never heard that before, says the lawyer. – When do you expect a response from the EMD? – It can come quickly, and it can take a long time. It’s a bit of a lottery. But we must in any case make a good argument, says Sjødin. In the meantime, however, the car can be sold at auction in Denmark. It can now be sold, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the case. – It can be sold at any time, but in that case someone has to cover the financial loss, says the lawyer. Lawyer Arvid Sjødin represents Shakhwan Ameen. Photo: Lise Åserud – Enormous consequences Since several serious cases of race-driving in this country this summer, the police and several others have advocated a similar law in Norway as well. – A proposal has been put forward, but then the police must tighten up the way they measure and account for speeding offences. It can have enormous consequences for those concerned, says Sjødin. Shakhwan Ameen says that for the past two years he has been working to make amends with the people he borrowed money from to buy the car. – I have worked day and night and have paid back most of it, but I still owe money. It is tough, he says. – Do you believe that you will win? – To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t really have faith in the justice system anymore. – Would you have gone down to the auction? – I have neither the means nor the opportunity. I have been expelled from Denmark. The car is in Aalborg. – Do you regret? – I regret everything really. That I bought the car. That I chose to drive because the car was too low to fit the trailer I had with me. And that I was driving too fast, but not too fast. I was very unlucky, concludes Ameen.
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Shakhwan Ameen will take Lamborghini seizure to the human rights court – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
