The Borgarting Court of Appeal found the men guilty of serious violence at the Solsiden pub in Lillestrøm on 3 December 2022. The men were convicted under the so-called mafia clause, and received higher sentences than when the case was heard in the Oslo District Court. The prosecution believes that five of those convicted in the case belonged to the MC club Satudarah, while the other two were affiliated with the club. – The district court came to the conclusion that it was not committed as part of the activity pattern of a criminal group, but the court of appeal came to the conclusion, and that is why they have received stricter penalties, says state attorney Andreas Strand. The seven have been sentenced to between one year and nine months and two years and ten months in prison. This is the mafia section § 79c of the Criminal Code, the closest Norway comes to a separate mafia section in the legal system. It is described as follows: When a criminal offense is committed as part of the activities of an organized criminal group. By organized criminal group is meant a collaboration between three or more persons whose main purpose is to commit an act that can be punished by imprisonment for at least 3 years, or which assumes that a not inconsiderable part of the activities consists in committing such acts. – Important signal – I am not aware of any other convictions for violence where this provision on organized criminal activity has been used, says the state attorney. The public prosecutor’s office has believed for a long time that it should be possible to use this provision in cases of violence. This is because violence can be used as a means of obtaining violent capital which can provide advantages in criminal groups, explains Strand. – It is an important signal against those who are considering using violence as a means of gaining entry into criminal circles. State Attorney Andreas Strand is not aware of similar convictions. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news – Spontaneous drunken brawl All seven have been convicted of complicity in grievous bodily harm. According to the verdict, it is not clear which of the defendants caused the damage. Only one of the men has pleaded guilty. The other six believe they should be acquitted. Two of the convicts tell news that they will appeal the case. Three say they are considering appealing. – Spontaneous drunken brawls are by their nature not organized crime, says defense lawyer Marius Oscar Dietrichson. He says it is natural that the country’s highest court decides whether the mafia clause can be used in such cases. – We believe that the police are doing themselves a disservice by raising the seriousness of this case and branding it as organized crime. What you are actually doing is watering down that term. Marius Oscar Dietrichson’s client has been convicted of organized crime. They will appeal the verdict. Photo: Lasren Håkon Mosvold / NTB Defense lawyer Julie Conradi-Larsen’s client is considering appealing the verdict. – We received this judgment last night, so now we will go through it carefully. But my client is not happy. He has pleaded not guilty. – We believe that this fight is not part of the activity of an organized group. Lawyer Julie Conradi-Larsen says her client is considering appealing the sentence. Photo: Maria Kommandantvold – We will use the time to assess whether the judgment should be appealed. In any case, we note that the penalty is substantially below the prosecutor’s claim. Beyond that, I have no comments, says Attorney General Usama Ahmad. He is the defender of the man who was previously referred to as the president of the MC club. news has tried to get in touch with the defense attorneys of the other two convicts, but has been unsuccessful. Stabbed, beaten and kicked According to the verdict, the seven men pushed the guards away before entering the club where they stabbed, beat and kicked another man. Video evidence shows that one of the convicts was carrying an iron bar, while another was carrying a glass bottle. After about a minute, they left the Solsiden nightclub. The victim was left bleeding on the floor. At Ullevål hospital, the man was diagnosed with several cuts, including on his forehead, back and thigh, in addition to a fractured left middle finger. – I cannot feel the thigh of my left leg. I can’t feel my thumb either. I have regained some mobility, but when it is cold there is less mobility in my thumb, said the man in the Oslo district court in November 2023. A few days after the incident, a knife was found at Lørenskog station. A DNA analysis shows that the blood on the knife blade is from the victim in the case. In the Court of Appeal’s view, there is no doubt that it was one of the defendants who caused the bodily harm, the judgment states. The verdict was from the Oslo district court was appealed by both the prosecution and the defendants to the Borgarting Court of Appeal. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB The MC club is banned in Norway In 2021, a new law was passed which opened the way to ban criminal associations. In November this year, the MC club was banned in Norway. The Supreme Court assumed, among other things, that the members of Satudarah have repeatedly committed serious offenses against someone’s life, health and freedom, and that this crime is apt to cause fear in the population or in a local environment. Satudarah MC is a motorcycle club founded in 1990 in Moordrecht in the Netherlands. Strand says they have looked at the process surrounding the ban on the club. – But the very central thing has always been that evidence has been provided that violence has been carried out with a desire to strengthen the group’s capital of violence. Published 12.11.2024, at 19.05 Updated 12.11.2024, at 19.58
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– Spontaneous drunken brawls are not organized crime – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
