Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) believes it shows the challenge of having open academia and international cooperation. – We want open academia, open universities and internal collaboration. At the same time, we know that modern intelligence threats can be of this category, without me being able to conclude on this matter. He believes that heightened vigilance is needed as to what an intelligence threat is, and that complex threats such as illegalists must also be monitored. The Prime Minister believes that the arrest is a good reason to tighten the investigation of guest researchers who wish to enter Norway. – We have rules that state that countries with which we do not have security cooperation must be particularly vigilant. But in general, this case illustrates that vigilance and thorough control in such contexts is wise, says Støre to news. Got a residence permit The University of Tromsø, Norway’s Arctic University (UiT) checked the man’s academic background when he applied to be part of the project “The Gray Zone”. Dag Rune Olsen, rector at UiT. Photo: Kristin Humstad / news Since the man had citizenship from a country that is not part of the EEA, it was up to UDI to grant him a residence permit. The rector at UiT, Dag Rune Olsen, says that they did all the investigations they were supposed to before the man got a job at the university. – We will naturally learn afterwards. Then we’ll see if we could do something else in our routines to get more clarity on people’s backgrounds, says Olsen. – Relevant research – This case is an important reminder that Norwegian research, and perhaps especially here in the north, is very relevant, says Marcela Douglas, head of the Peace Center at UiT. Marcela Douglas, head of the Peace Center at UiT. Photo: UiT She describes the suspect as an ordinary researcher, who was concerned with the Arctic, the Barents Sea and questions of security. It is Russia’s interest in the West, Douglas suspects, may be the reason why they may have been interested in the project at UiT. – On a general level, the world is such that it is difficult for Russia to gain access to the West. Then it is clear to be able to listen to the discussions that Norwegian researchers have about security and that topic is important and relevant, she says. news has sent an inquiry to UDI about the matter, but has not yet received a reply.
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Støre wants stricter scrutiny of visiting researchers – news Troms and Finnmark
