– We assume that there will be no special contribution in the case from him, says State Attorney Sturla Henriksbø to NTB.
The 46-year-old accused of terrorism was transported back to Norway on Friday after being detained in Pakistan. The Norwegian authorities believe he had a central role in the planning and instigation of the mass shooting in central Oslo on the night of 25 June 2022.
But Arfan Bhatti denies criminal guilt and points out, among other things, that he was not even in the country when Zaniar Matapour (44) opened fire on revelers at the night clubs London Pub and Per på Hjørnet.
Offered to travel to Norway
On Sunday, Bhatti’s defender, lawyer John Christian Elden, appeared on NRK and said that shortly after the attack, the client had offered to return to Norway voluntarily. But the police at that time did not have any charges against Bhatti and replied that there was no need. Only at the very end of August 2022 was he charged with complicity in serious terrorism by the Norwegian police and wanted all over the world.
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Bhatti was arrested by Pakistani police a few days after he was wanted internationally after the mass shooting and was taken into custody. In mid-April last year, he was formally arrested and detained. Norway requested his extradition.
– We do not have high expectations for his witness test. As the accused, Bhatti has no duty to explain himself. He did not want to give any explanation when he was tried to be questioned in Pakistan, and his defender has declared that he will have the same attitude now, Henriksbø points out to NTB.
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Two people were killed and nine were shot in what the prosecutor believes was a terrorist attack against the queer community.
Oppose
Bhatti denies any involvement in the Matapour case. On Tuesday morning, he will be presented as a witness in the Oslo district court anyway – despite the fact that he has made it clear that he will use his right not to explain himself.
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– He has opposed this. He has denied that he has anything to do with this shooting incident, says Elden to NTB.
Bhatti will still have to appear in room 250 in the Oslo courthouse. There he will be placed in the witness stand and must himself make it clear to the court that he will not answer questions.
– The evidence against Matapour stands on its own, and the evidence is not dependent on Bhatti’s explanation. But Bhatti is accused of having played a central role in the case, and then it is natural that we present him as a witness and give him an opportunity to explain himself, says Henriksbø.
Sent letter
The court has set aside two days for his witness examination, but that is probably far in excess of what will be needed. If Bhatti refuses to explain himself, the prosecutor will read out to the court parts of the documents with statements from him, including a long letter to the Norwegian authorities in which he explains why he does not want to explain himself.
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Bhatti demands full access to “case and personal information, including third-party information registered about me with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence, PST, OPD and all ordinary police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” says the letter that NRK quoted from this weekend.
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However, the part of the evidence in the Matapour case involving Bhatti gives a fragmentary and incomplete picture of his allegedly central involvement. The investigation against him is still not over.
According to NTB’s understanding, the prosecution will present a significantly more comprehensive and complete picture of evidence against Bhatti if the investigation ends with an indictment and criminal proceedings are brought against him.
The evidence against Bhatti
* There was extensive and apparently close and personal contact between Bhatti and Matapour. Bhatti’s contact info was found on several of Matapour’s devices. They sent each other messages on encrypted services and participated in an encrypted chat group, where extreme Islamism was among other topics.
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* The prosecutor and the Norwegian Intelligence Service link him to the planning of the mass shooting through contact with the E-service’s secret agent and through a woman who also chatted with the agent who pretended to be two different IS representatives.
* According to the prosecutor, it was Bhatti who sent the audio file with Matapour’s oath of allegiance to IS after the attack with the intention of getting the extremist group to take responsibility for the shooting.
* Bhatti and Matapour were stopped by the police when they drove together after the car of Sian leader Lars Thorsen in spring 2022.
* Bhatti posted a photo on Facebook of a burning pride flag with a text that is interpreted as calling for the murder of gays, just days before the attack in Oslo.
