The woman in her 40s was arrested by the police in her apartment in Oslo in January. Since then she has been in custody at Bredtveit women’s prison. She has been wanted by the Spanish authorities, and yesterday she was handed over to Spain. Defense attorney Magnus Torfoss at the Hasle law firm confirms this to news. Spanish authorities have charged her with terrorist activities. The arrest warrant states, among other things, that she is charged with participation in the terrorist group IS. The children live in Norway The woman is a Spanish citizen, but has lived in Norway for ten years. She came to Norway with her children. They have become Norwegian citizens. news interviewed the woman in the visiting room in Bredtveit prison in Oslo before she was sent to Spain. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news When news interviewed her in the visiting room in the prison, before she was sent out of Norway, she said we could call her Isabel. That’s not her real name. – Why would I do this? I have children, I have grandchildren, I have everything in place here in Norway. Why would I ruin my future, she asked rhetorically. Defender: – A lot of things are jarring The Norwegian defender reacts to how the case has been handled. Lawyer Magnus Torfoss at the law firm Hasle is the woman’s Norwegian defender. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news – If she had been suspected of the things they have now written in the arrest warrant, then she would never have been required to report to say so, says lawyer Magnus Torfoss. The arrest warrant from Spain states that the woman has taken an oath of allegiance to the terrorist group IS, has shared content that is suitable for recruiting new followers to the terrorist group and that she can make explosives. – The Spanish lawyer has no knowledge of anything and does not have access to any documents. So it is difficult to carry out a real check of the information that the Spanish authorities provide. – They say they have evidence for this and that, or that they assume this and that, but without us getting any opportunity to look at the evidence, says Torfoss. The defender has also called for exact times for when the alleged criminal acts should have taken place. They have only learned that it must have happened during 2023. The police: – Central role Police attorney Marius Kjønnøy Kongsberg at the Oslo police district points out that the courts have concluded that there was nothing in the woman’s explanation that the content of the arrest warrant was ” obviously false”. – The woman is charged with concrete terrorist activities and she seems to have had a central role in the conditions for which she is charged, says Kongsberg to news. – What have the Norwegian authorities done to check the evidence from the Spanish authorities? – No, it is not part of the police’s duties under the Arrest Warrant Act. We will not investigate the matter. That is what the Spanish authorities are doing, hence the request for extradition for prosecution. Converted to Islam Isabel says that she converted to Islam during the pandemic. Previously, she was a Catholic. When she flew to Spain at the end of August last year, she was arrested by the police at the airport after she had landed. – They told me: You have been arrested because of acts of terrorism on social media. – I was completely shocked, I started crying and didn’t understand anything. Isabel says she went to Spain to sort out some divorce papers there. She was released after a day on recognizance. Although she was required to stay in Spain, she went back to Norway via France in November. – They took my passport, but I had an ID card that I could travel with within the EU, says Isabel. She says she went back because she received messages of concern from the child welfare agency about her son who was in Norway. The son has special needs. The defender believes that what she was originally arrested for in Spain would not have been punishable in Norway. He believes this could therefore have been a reason to stop the handover. – A big surprise was when they got an arrest warrant from Spain. It said that I was a member of IS. That I was able to make explosives and that I was going to leave my boy in Spain to blow myself up, says Isabel. She bursts into tears. Can you make explosives? – Not at all. How was I supposed to make it? Saw IS videos The woman says she was terrified after what happened in Spain last summer. Isabel was arrested in Spain for videos that she has published in Norway. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news She says she has stopped wearing the hijab after this because she is afraid to show that she is a Muslim. Isabel admits that she was in a chat group on Telegram where someone shared IS videos, but says she watched the videos because she liked the music. – I was happy to listen to that music, even though I don’t understand any Arabic, but I liked it. I never spoke to anyone or had contact with anyone in that group. – It is true that there were videos from IS, old videos and I watched these videos, but it was because I was curious. I would understand, but I don’t support them. The Spanish woman in the visiting room at Bredtveit prison in Oslo before she was handed over to Spain. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi Denies criminal guilt Isabel does not believe she will receive fair treatment in the legal system in Spain. – I cannot decide about my future. I have not done anything. I end up in prison for the first time in my life. I don’t know what will happen in Spain. My son will be alone here. My life is broken, she says to news. Her Norwegian defender says they will not drop the case even if she is sent to Spain. – We will continue to have a dialogue with the Spanish lawyer and see what way we can possibly assist, says Torfoss.
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Woman accused of terrorism sent to Spain – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
