On Monday 20 September last year, a man entered the doors of Nav Årstad in Bergen. Shortly afterwards, he had knee-capped two Nav employees in a meeting room. Marianne Amundsen (57) died in the knife attack. Colleague Ida Aulin got out of the room, but was also injured after being stabbed. On Monday, the man (40) must appear in Hordaland district court. He is charged with murder and attempted murder. The family of Marianne Amundsen is critical of the fact that the safety of the employees at the Nav office at Danmarks plass was not good enough. – Death trap The defendant was a Nav user at the office in question. He was in for an agreed meeting when he attacked the women. Amundsen’s brother, Pål Gerhard Olsen, told VG this summer that “the sisters were caught in a death trap”. This is because the meeting room did not meet Nav’s minimum standard for requirements for the design and security of meeting rooms. DIED: Marianne Amundsen (57) died in the knife attack. Colleague Ida Aulin was also stabbed, but got out of the meeting room. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority carried out an inspection at the Nav office after the incident. Even in twelve orders. The conclusion was that Nav has not done enough to prevent violence and threats against employees. Therefore, the relatives have notified that they are considering a lawsuit against Nav. The brother of the murdered man tells news that the trial will be very important to them. – We hope the trial, through the presentation of the police’s crime scene investigations and witness statements, will further document the failing safety concerns at Nav Årstad. With potentially fatal ripple effects for the entire Nav system, writes Olsen in an e-mail. – We do not wish to comment on this until the case has been dealt with in the legal system. We will deal with a lawsuit if or when this is pending, says municipal director Tommy Johansen in Bergen municipality. Municipal director Tommy Johansen in Bergen municipality. Photo: Julianne Bråten Mossing / news Hoping for support from trade unions But to be able to go to court against Nav, the family needs financial support from several people. – The way the Norwegian legal system works, a lawsuit will be entirely dependent on Marianne’s trade union, the Fellesorganisationen, backing the lawsuit financially, says Olsen. – This is also why the court case is of such fundamental importance to us. Although it is not Nav who primarily sits on the dock, Olsen insists. Daniel Charles Hextall is press manager at Amundsen’s trade union. – As a trade union for Nav employees, we work to ensure that our members are safe at work. We follow both the trial and the conviction closely. We must consider whether it is appropriate to support a civil lawsuit. Regardless, our main point is that the employer must ensure that the premises are safe for the employees. BIG ACTION: The emergency services rushed out with enormous resources when the news came about the knifeman at the Nav office in Bergen. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB Computable or imputable? Ten days have been set for the trial in Hordaland district court. The prosecutor is state attorney May-Brit Erstad. Morten Grimstad is defending the accused. May Britt Løvik is legal aid for Aulin and the relatives of Amundsen. The main question in the court case is whether the 40-year-old accused of murder was criminally liable during the knife attack. In the indictment that came in July, the State Attorney believed that the 40-year-old was unaccountable. She therefore notified a claim for compulsory mental health care as punishment. But a few weeks ago, the state attorney reversed himself after a new assessment by psychiatric experts. The prosecution now assumes that the defendant was sane and a custodial sentence has been notified.
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– The court case is of fundamental importance to us – news Vestland
