The Norwegian authorities succeeded in transporting Arfan Bhatti to Norway from Pakistan, right on the eve of the trial against terrorist accused Matapour. On Tuesday, it was Bhatti’s turn to testify in the Oslo district court.
Matpapour looks anxiously towards the door. More alert and attentive than I can remember seeing him so far through these long weeks in court.
A pointless ping pong game
When Arfan Bhatti finally enters the hall, Matapour’s face breaks into a broad smile.
This is Arfan Bhatti
Convicted several times since early adolescence. Has been a leading figure in the Norwegian extreme Islamist milieu since the beginning of the 2000s. Several times indicted for terrorism, including in connection with the shooting at the synagogue in Oslo in 2006, but never convicted of terrorist activities.
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The two shake hands – and hug each other.
– You look good, as always, says Matapour.
Bhatti smiles warmly back, and takes his place in the witness box. He turns and waves to the press and people on the audience bench. Still smiling. Seemingly brimming with confidence.
In a black training suit with wide, bright turquoise stripes and a military green cap, he sits energetically leaning forward. When asked by the judge, he describes Matapour as “a good friend”. Matapour eagerly follows along.
Then it’s over. Bhatti will not explain himself until he is given access to a number of documents he believes the Norwegian authorities have access to. The questioning develops into a pointless ping pong, back and forth.
“Heart of Gold”
Bhatti answers the questions from the prosecutor with his own questions. All are about why the Norwegian authorities, according to Bhatti himself, have monitored him, tried to turn his family and friends against him, and have broken laws and regulations in their treatment of him. Both while he was arrested in Pakistan, and for many years before he went there.
We read out some of the interrogations the Norwegian police conducted of Bhatti while he was imprisoned in Pakistan. Here, too, he was mostly concerned with his own situation, and the Norwegian authorities’ treatment of him.
But in the interviews with the Norwegian police in Pakistan, he also talked about Matapour, who according to Bhatti has “a heart of gold”. He has known Matapour for a long time, and has nothing negative to say about him.
“People can judge with borrowed ears,” said Bhatti in questioning, and continued that he, for his part, experiences Matapour completely differently from what others do. But since Bhatti does not want to elaborate on any of what he explained in Pakistan to the court, we do not get to hear more about how he believes “others” experience Matapour.
Could be the deadliest
Bhatti is charged with complicity in the Pride terror, but denies any involvement in the case. The Norwegian authorities believe Bhatti is the main man, the mastermind behind the attack that claimed the lives of two people and injured many more. Both physical and mental.
Only the unimaginable courage of ordinary people that night prevented a massacre in the center of Oslo. Matapour still had large amounts of unused ammunition when the 25 June heroes stopped him in his tracks.
Experts believe this could have become one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Europe, if Matapour had not been stopped.
We do not get any answer about Bhatti’s possible role in the attack this time around. But the investigation into him and his alleged involvement in terrorism continues.
