Arfan Bhatti arrived in the courtroom in Islamabad, Pakistan in handcuffs. After speaking with his lawyer, he sat down in the courtroom with other defendants who were awaiting arraignment. At 12:30 the hearing was underway. The hearing is taking place behind closed doors, and the press has been sent out into the hallway due to the ongoing investigation in both Norway and Pakistan. Photography is prohibited both inside and outside the court building. In court, Bhatti’s Pakistani defender Zia ur Rehman submitted an application for bail, he tells news. – My client has received unnecessarily harsh treatment due to pressure from the Norwegian authorities, says the defense lawyer. The court will decide whether he will be released from custody on bail, and will assess the risk of escape, his Norwegian lawyer John Christian Elden told news yesterday. At 12:40 the judge received the bail application, but it was decided that a decision will only be made at the next court hearing. The BD will take place on Tuesday next week. Pakistani policeman: – Satisfied with the postponement news has been in contact with the Oslo police district, but has not yet received a response to our inquiries. The federal police in Pakistan FIA confirms to news that it moved towards releasing Bhatti. – We are satisfied with the postponement. And will now have meetings with the Norwegian police and the embassy to prepare us for the next hearing, said an official who does not wish to be named. The well-known Norwegian Islamist Arfan Bhatti was charged last September with complicity in the terror attack in Oslo last June. Since then, he has been internationally wanted. Norwegian police have been trying to get Bhatti extradited from Pakistan since November last year. He has been there since 8 June 2022. Risks 30 years in prison Tomorrow’s court hearing is the third Bhatti will attend. Only in a month or two will the whole case be taken up, with the presentation of evidence, which has been sent from the Norwegian police. Among other things, a dialogue from the messaging service Whatsapp, where a Norwegian employee from the E-service pretended to be an Islamist. In the dialogue, he has chatted with what the police believe is Arfan Bhatti. Outside the court premises in Islamabad. Photo: news Lawyer Rehman in Pakistan told news on Monday that he does not think the evidence against Bhatti is good enough. The circumstances Bhatti is charged with carry a penalty of 30 years. He was arrested by the Pakistani authorities on 26 September last year. Arfan Bhatti believes that the charge is baseless and that he is innocent. He says via his lawyer in Pakistan that he would like to come to Norway voluntarily, but does not want to be escorted by the police. Bhatti is one of four accused after Zaniar Matapour shot and killed 2 people, and injured several others in Rosenkrantz gate in Oslo on 25 June 2022. The other three, including Matapour, are in custody in Norway. news has previously mentioned that Matapour and Bhatti had contact ahead of the shooting.
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Will not be released on Tuesday – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
