Arfan Bhatti on his way to Norway – the Minister of Justice calls for a press conference

According to TV 2, Arfan Bhatti will land at Oslo Airport in a few hours. The Norwegian authorities have sent a plane to pick up the 46-year-old, writes the channel.

Shortly after TV 2 published its case, the Ministry of Justice reports that Justice and Emergency Services Minister Emilie Enger Mehl is available to the press today at 9.45 in connection with the extradition of Bhatti.

Bhatti is charged with complicity in the terrorist shooting in Oslo on 25 June 2022. Two people were shot and killed when Zaniar Matapour opened fire on the pubs Per på Hjørnet and London Pub.

Arrested in Pakistan

Three months after the attack, in September 2022, Bhatti was arrested in Pakistan where he has since been in police custody. The Norwegian authorities wanted to have him extradited so that they themselves could prosecute him for his role in the terrorist attack.

Bhatti is charged with complicity in the case. He was in Pakistan at the time of the crime and denies any criminal responsibility.

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Norway and Pakistan do not have an extradition agreement, and it has been a long process to get Bhatti to Norway. After months of court proceedings, it became clear in January that he could be extradited.

Subpoenaed as a witness

In addition to Bhatti himself being charged, the prosecution wants him to testify against Matapour in the ongoing trial against him.

In the trial, which is ongoing in the Oslo District Court, it has emerged that investigators found extensive communications with Arfan Bhatti when they reviewed the electronic devices of Zaniar Matapour after the mass shooting.

The phone he had with him during the shooting had never been used. But under the battery cover the police found two SIM cards, one of which contained four contact entries. Two of them were for Arfan Bhatti.