– No, it doesn’t happen here, we are in Norway, Samir Alnahhal says he thought when he heard the first shots on 25 June 2022. Alnahhal is the first of the victims to explain himself in the trial against Zaniar Matapour. Matapour is accused of having shot 11 men, including two who were killed, in a terrorist attack on 25 June 2022. The sentence is 30 years. He pleads not guilty. Alnahhal was in Rosenkrantz’s street with his group of friends, and was going to buy food before they went home to one of them. – Then it hit the back of my head. It felt like being hit with a metal bar, or like being hit with a truck. Then I touched my head and felt that it was soft. He understood nothing. – I felt something was wrong, but I didn’t understand what it was. Thinking of the daughters Alnahhal was hit by a total of two shots that night. The father of two breaks down when he talks about how his two daughters were thinking. He wipes his tears with a tissue as he tells. – The only thing I thought about was my two sweet girls. What will happen to them? Alnahhal has suffered damage to his hearing, vision, and nerve damage in his leg as a result of the attack. He struggles with dizziness and concentration, in addition to anxiety, nightmares and sleep difficulties, he says. – I am very happy that I can see my children grow up. At the same time, he says that he misses being able to go to restaurants, go to the shops or play with the children and take them on his shoulders. Things he says he can no longer do, as a result of both psychological and physical injuries. Alnahhal talks with a trembling voice about how the children miss the active dad he was before the attack. – It is better to die, actually, than to see one’s children struggle. See other fathers doing things, when they are out and they want to do the same, but “Dad can’t”. This is going to be a big part of their childhood. I think that is unfair, says a clearly affected father of two. The perpetrator answers: – The court works during Ramadan Alnahhal also clearly informs Matapour, who at the beginning of the court day questioned the fact that the trial is held during Ramadan. – I am Muslim and celebrate Ramadan. I’ve never heard of people taking time off during Ramadan. Everything works as normal, also during Ramadan. I had to say it. – Considering this morning, are you thinking about? asks the judge. – Yes, answers Samir. – The court and everything works as normal. I just had to say it. At the start of the trial, Zaniar Matapour interrupted the judge: – Why is this scheme carried out during Ramadan? And on Friday, which is very important for Muslims. He said that Christian holidays such as Easter are taken into account. – We are carrying out this case even though it is Ramadan, I have not perceived that there is a conflict in carrying out the case even though it is Ramadan, answered the judge. Matapour wears a white prayer cap and dark shirt. He sits with a small yellow notebook, and has been given the contents of a ballpoint pen to write with. There are also no water jugs or other objects near him. The police are armed in the Oslo district court. Matapour has been given the contents of a ballpoint pen to note down during the first day of the trial. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news Ingrid Rasten is one of those who put Matapour in the ground. To news, she says that she is struggling to find the right words for what it has been like to be in court on Tuesday. – But I have felt it very much in my body, both dizzy, nauseous and unwell. I have picked my nails. I feel loath to see him, quite simply, says Rasten. – He said something at the start, but does not want to explain himself. What do you think about that? – Then I got angry. And thought that now there is a perpetrator here who is just looking to cause nausea. And zero respect for us. Defense attorney: Criticizes PST, the police and the E-service Defense attorney Marius Dietrichson began his introductory speech by saying that the defense will not dispute that Matapour has done what he is accused of. – That leads the court on to the next issue – guilt and terrorist intent, says Dietrichson. Matapour when he arrived in Oslo District Court’s largest courtroom. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Dietrichson refers to the messages between what the police believe are two of those who are still charged in the case; Aisha Shezadi Kausar and Arfan Bhatti, and an E-service agent who posed as an IS fighter. The messages are about an imminent attack in a Scandinavian country. The police believe that it is Kausar and Bhatti who have notified of the attack, with the wish that IS will take responsibility for this. Without these messages, Dietrichson argues that it is difficult to prove that the attack Matapour was behind was a terrorist attack. Some of the things in Zaniar Matapour’s place. Among other things, Matapour has a Koran with him in court. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news – If the message can be linked to the accused, then there is evidence that this could be terrorism. If, on the other hand, the messages are a mistake, we are perhaps a little more back to scratch, where the Oslo Police District once was, says the defender. Dietrichson believes that the question of the messages between the intelligence agent and what the police believe to be Kausar being police provocation must be raised during the trial. Illustration: Marco Vaglieri / news Furthermore, he talks about the kind of preventive work that was done towards Matapour in advance of the attack. – The perpetrator must take responsibility for what he has done, but there is a question as to why no one went to his home? Dietrichson reads from the report that evaluated the work of the police and PST in the run-up to the attack. In the report, the police received severe criticism. The ten most central findings in the evaluation of the police’s work before, during and after 25 June It is possible that the attack on the night of 25 June 2022 could have been prevented if the PST had opened a preventive case against Zaniar Matapour in the months leading up to the attack. Although PST relied on relevant self-produced intelligence about Matapour, PST did not share this intelligence with the radicalization contacts in the police who were responsible for following him up. It is possible that the attack could have been averted as a result of a notification PST received from the E-service five days before the attack occurred. No one in PST ever checked Bhatti’s social media accounts as a result of the notice from the E-service. The police’s operational handling of the attack, including implementation of the procedure for ongoing life-threatening violence (PLIVO), notification and interaction internally and externally, was on the whole well carried out and in line with current guidelines and procedures. Lack of preparedness/availability for important functions in the Oslo police district still constitutes a limitation for the police’s abilities and opportunities to handle serious crises and incidents. The police authorities entrusted too much communication responsibility to Oslo Pride. There was too little interaction between the Oslo police district, PST and the Norwegian Police Directorate on how they should communicate about the attack. The director of police did not have sufficient grounds to review the Oslo police district’s operational assessments of whether the solidarity marking on 27 June could be carried out. The decision to recommend the cancellation of the solidarity marking was contrary to the freedom of assembly according to Section 101 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the ECHR. He also points out that the question of Matapour’s sanity is unclear, as the experts did not agree on this question in the report they wrote in advance of the trial. Marius Dietrichson is the defender for Zaniar Matapour. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news Surveillance video from attack shown in court In court, a video was played showing terrorist defendant Zaniar Matapour’s movements when he attacked on 25 June 2022. – It is a strong impression to watch the film, prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø warned. Video released by police. The video shows Zaniar Matapour’s movements during the terrorist attack on 25 June in the center of Oslo. The video was filmed by surveillance cameras and witnesses. In the video, you can see among the reactions of the civilians at the outdoor restaurant at Per on the corner when the first shots are fired, and hear screams of terror. On the bench for the aggrieved after the attack, several were clearly affected by the video. Several covered their faces, some wiped away tears. Some looked angry, others shocked. Matapour used two weapons during the attack. A total of 19 shots were fired. 18 were fired at the nightspots in Rosenkrantz’ gate, while the last one went off in the basketball that arose when civilians put Matapour to the ground. Zaniar Matapour in court on Tuesday morning. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news The forensic psychiatric experts disagree on whether Matapour was sane or not during the attack. In his introductory speech, prosecutor Henriksbø says that the prosecution wants the court to make an independent assessment of whether Matapour is sane or not. – We will also conclude what we think at the end of the main hearing and will then share it with the court, he says. Facts about the pride shooting * On the night of Saturday 25 June 2022, shots were fired at the pubs Per på kørnket and London pub, which are popular among queers, in Oslo. * Two people were killed, and nine people were hit by gunfire. Over 20 people were slightly injured in the chaos that followed. * 44-year-old Zaniar Matapour was overpowered by witnesses at the scene before he could kill several people, and he was arrested by the police at the scene. * More than 260 people have the status of offended in the case. * In November last year, Matapour was indicted for a serious act of terrorism. The 44-year-old denies criminal guilt. Four others have been charged in the case. * The trial against the man accused of terrorism will run from 12 March to 16 May this year. Source: NTB Played oath of allegiance – The incident took place at night. The day before was a warm and nice summer day, as we all look forward to when we are in March. It was the end of the Pride commemoration and the day before the closing parade. – People flocked to the London pub, which refers to itself as the most visited gay club in Oslo, says prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø during her introductory speech on Tuesday morning. He describes the defendant Zaniar Matapour’s movements on the night of 25 June 2022. Because while people flocked to the London pub, Matapour, among other things, recorded an oath of allegiance, according to the prosecutor. It is played in its entirety in court. Matapour calmly looks ahead as the oath of allegiance, or baya, is played out in the district court. – The oath of allegiance is designed in the same way as the oath of allegiance other terrorists have given to IS before other terror attacks in Europe in recent years, says the prosecutor. Henriksbø also reads the baya in Norwegian for the court. The prosecutor tells about Matapour’s past In his introductory speech, prosecutor Henriksbø goes through the evidence that will be presented in the weeks leading up to May 16, when the trial ends after weeks of main proceedings. Matapour when he arrived in Oslo District Court’s largest courtroom. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – Matapour has chosen to make use of the right not to explain himself. It’s a shame, because we would like to hear his version and perspective on the matter. He has declared in advance that he does not want to explain himself to the court either, we must respect that, says Henriksbø. He goes through Matapour’s life before the attack in 2022. He says he already came into contact with the police for violent and drug offenses as a young adult. And that PST was notified in 2016 of possible radicalisation. Furthermore, Henriksbø goes into the sequence of events on the fateful Friday. He refers to the police’s mapping of Matapour’s movements from around 4pm on the Friday of the attack, when Matapour left home for the Istanbul restaurant in lower Grünerløkka in Oslo. The press interviews prosecutors Aud Kinsarvik Gravås and Sturla Henriksbø before the trial begins. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news Henriksbø says the police will provide evidence that Matapour took a taxi from Bjørndalen in Oslo into the center of Oslo, right after he recorded an oath of allegiance. The prosecutor also goes into the intelligence operation that gave the secret services in Norway a warning that an attack in Oslo could take place at the time when the attack took place. Ask for a postponement – We know that it has been a burden for the aggrieved to wait. There are many who are afraid to explain themselves, and look forward to being done with it, says prosecutor Aud Kinsarvik Gravås to the press just before the trial began on Tuesday morning. The trial lasts until May 16. Defense lawyer Marius Dietrichson believes it should have been moved to after the summer holidays, and cites the client’s health and the lack of confidential conversations between them as reasons for this. Four others have been charged in the case, but only Matapour has been charged now. The investigation against them is not finished, says the prosecutor’s office in its opening statement. Arfan Bhatti is one of the accused who is still abroad. The Norwegian authorities are trying to have him extradited, and a process is underway in Pakistan about this. The prosecution wants Bhatti to testify, but it is uncertain whether Bhatti will be extradited in time, if he is extradited. Earlier on Tuesday, however, the prosecution said that they believe Bhatti’s extradition may take place before the end of the trial.
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Zaniar Matapour appears in court for the pride attack – the trial is broadcast live – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
