Something went wrong when a 14-year-old girl stood at passport control at Torp airport in Sandefjord in February 2022. The girl had no money, bank card, phone or return ticket. And there was little in the luggage. Together with a 23-year-old man and his father, they arrived in Norway by plane from a country in Eastern Europe. ON THE PLANE: The three take selfies on the plane on their way to Torp Airport in Sandefjord. The man is accused of having married the then 14-year-old girl in her home country, shortly before she came to Norway. His parents are also charged with having contributed to a marriage-like relationship being entered into. All three live in Oslo. All three were convicted in the district court, but they appealed the verdict. This week, the prosecutor asked for even stricter penalties in the Agder Court of Appeal in Tønsberg. If they are convicted, it will be the first time in over ten years that someone in Norway has been convicted of child marriage. CEREMONY: This photo is one of the pieces of evidence for the police that there has been a formal ceremony between the two. Both say this was not a wedding. – I was worried At the border control at Torp, it was Helene Marum in the police who in many ways started the case. – We have an additional responsibility for children who travel alone, Marum said when she testified in the Agder Court of Appeal. The police noticed that the girl did not have her own luggage. Her things were in the hand luggage of the 23-year-old. And the ID card was found in the wallet of one of the men. – Of women’s clothing, there were two jackets, some utility clothes, underwear, but no toiletries apart from a little make-up, Marum said. She took the girl into a private room, with an interpreter on the phone. She didn’t know a word of English. And the girl said that the only people she traveled with were her cousin and uncle. – I was worried because she didn’t know how long she would be in Norway and didn’t have money or a bank card. There were also different versions of how long she would be in Norway, said Marum. Nevertheless, it became clear that the girl’s parents had approved the trip. The 14-year-old had with him a declaration of consent and authorization to travel with the two men. NORMAL: The power of attorney the girl had with her gives her permission to travel – by her parents. The power of attorney does not say anything about how long she may be abroad or under her family’s supervision. Photo: The police All three were allowed to leave Torp airport, but Marum still sent a report of concern to child protection. The home visit Both the police and child protection responded to the report of concern. Three days later they went on a home visit to the apartment in Oslo. The police feared forced marriage, prostitution and sexual intercourse with a minor. – We were therefore worried about her, investigator Hanna Elisbeth Roe told the court. The family let the police into the apartment without protest. Child protection had a plan to talk to her quite quickly alone in one of the rooms, via an interpreter. The conversation meant that the child welfare services took her on to an institution in Oslo. In two interrogations, the girl told two different stories, but she eventually revealed that the 23-year-old was actually her boyfriend. The police arrested the 23-year-old and confiscated the phones of him and his family. There they found pictures of her in dresses, pictures from a ceremony in her home country, and scantily clad pictures of the 14-year-old. The police also secured photos and video from the day the ceremony is supposed to have taken place. They located several photos to specific locations in the country, in order to document the defendant’s movements on the day of the ceremony. The man believes the girl lied and said she was 16 years old: – Not unusual in the home country So why did the authorities take such drastic measures as placing the girl in a child welfare institution and arresting the 23-year-old? Part of the explanation lies in the area they come from in Eastern Europe. The police saw similarities to a case where a girl from the same area had been forced into prostitution. An expert on human trafficking, police superintendent Tove Foss Møller, explained in court that it is not the first time young girls come to Torp from this area with little in their luggage. In the ethnic group they belong to in their home country, it is not uncommon for marriages to be entered into between the ages of 14 and 18, according to the police. And the bride often moves home with the husband’s family after they are married. In court, one of the family’s defenders objected violently to the police’s generalization. Lawyer Veycel Ince thought the police had “semi-racist” attitudes. His point was that the two were lovers and wanted to be together, and that the case was not about prostitution or human trafficking. IN THE COURT: State prosecutor Vibeke Gjøslien talks to the family’s defenders Øzkan Alkan and Veycel Ince. Photo: Fredrik Hansen / news Want a tougher punishment Both the man and his parents have denied guilt while the case has been going through the court system. The defenders of the family asked for a full acquittal. Both the girl and the man have said that they were lovers and that they were “søz”, which they believe is far less formal and binding than an engagement or marriage. In the district court, the man and his parents were sentenced to eleven months in prison. But state prosecutor Vibeke Gjøslien ended the case in the Court of Appeal by asking for one year and four months in prison for all three. The girl, who is now 16, will now be back in her home country with her parents. FOCAL POINT OF HONOR: Police Superintendent Jasmina desperately tries to save two young Norwegians from being forced into marriage. At the same time, “Nora” is on the run from her parents.
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The police raised the alarm about a 14-year-old – news Dokumentar
