At 09.20 on Tuesday morning, the court was seated in room 250 in the Oslo district court, where Zaniar Matapour (44) is charged with aggravated terrorism after the Pride shooting in the summer of 2022.
Five minutes later, Matapour’s co-accused Arfan Bhatti (46) was brought into the courtroom, where he has been subpoenaed as a witness in the ongoing trial.
He is wearing dark tracksuits, a green cap, and has medium-length hair and a beard.
Bhatti arrived in the courtroom only after the court was set, and it is therefore not permitted to photograph him.
He smiled and greeted Matapour, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, before taking his place in the witness box.
– A good friend, Bhatti answers questions from the judge about the relationship with Matapour.
ARRIVALED COURT: Arfan Bhatti was escorted into the garage at the courthouse on Tuesday morning. Photo: Øistein Norum Monsen / Dagbladet
view more
– I was tortured
Initially, two days were set aside for Bhatti’s testimony, but already in advance he has announced that he does not want to explain himself.
– I don’t understand why I’ve been summoned, he says.
In court, he repeated that he wanted to have access to what information the Norwegian authorities have registered about him, as a prerequisite for explaining himself.
At the request of the prosecutor in the case, State Attorney Sturla Henriksbø, Bhatti read out a handwritten letter he sent in January, in which he demands an overview of “case and personal information, including third-party information registered about me with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defense, PST, OPD and all ordinary police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.
– I was tortured and had experiences I do not want to describe, Bhatti reads from the letter.
DEFENDERS: Bhatti’s lawyers Farid Bouras and Inger Zadig follow the case from the courtroom. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet
view more
He believes that the Norwegian authorities contributed to his being “abducted” by the Pakistani security services. Furthermore, he accuses Norway of meddling politically in an ongoing legal process to have him extradited from Pakistan.
Delivered Friday
Bhatti was extradited to Norway from Pakistan on Friday, after having been in Pakistani custody since September 2022.
He is charged with complicity in gross terror after the mass shooting, in which Jon Erik Isahsen (54) and Kåre Arvid Hesvik (60) were killed and dozens injured.
The charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison.
– He is accused of being the main man behind the terrorist attack. There are of course a number of questions related to his role and knowledge of the matter. He is also a close friend of Matapour. Since the issue of sanity is central to the case, it is natural to ask him about Matapour and his impression of him, says State Attorney Sturla Henriksbø, one of the prosecutors in the case, to Dagbladet on Tuesday morning.
ACCUSED: Zaniar Matapour (44), pictured earlier in the trial. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet
view more
Considers himself prejudged
Bhatti denies criminal guilt for the charge, and has expressed that he has nothing to do with the attack on 25 June.
According to defense attorney Farid Bouras, he believes he is pre-judged, and he fears that he will not receive fair treatment in Norway.
– I don’t understand why you are interested in an answer from me, when you don’t want to give me an answer yourself. You don’t want to give me access – what do you have to hide, Bhatti asks public prosecutor Henriksbø from the witness box.
Furthermore, the prosecutor asks if Bhatti has any comment on an episode in 2022, where he and Matapour were stopped in a car while allegedly following Sian leader Lars Thorsen.
Bhatti does not want to answer. Nor will he answer how he reacted when he heard about the events on 25 June, or elaborate on his relationship with Matapour.
– A heart of gold
On 30 and 31 January this year, Norwegian police interrogated Bhatti while he was imprisoned in Pakistan.
In the interrogations, Bhatti expresses that the Norwegian authorities have pursued, monitored and put him and his family in danger.
He also provides some descriptions of Zaniar Matapour.
– The accused says that he wishes Zaniar all the best. He has a good and long friendship with him. He says that Zaniar has a heart of gold, Henriksbø reads from the interrogation in Pakistan.
– Is there anything you would like to add, asks the prosecutor.
– No, answers Bhatti.
LANDED: On Friday evening, Arfan Bhatti landed at Oslo Airport in a private plane chartered by the Norwegian authorities, escorted by the police’s emergency squad. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet
view more
– Tragic for them
Just after 10 o’clock, Henriksbø announces that he has no more questions for Bhatti, as long as he does not want to answer.
Aid lawyer Christian Lundin asks Bhatti if he has any message for those who were affected by the attack on 25 June 2022.
– It is tragic for them, but I am so far from this case and the action that beyond that I have no comment, he replies.
In conclusion, Bhatti says that if there is an indictment and trial against him, he will explain himself about it.
At 10.12 he was taken out of the hall again. On his way out, he again gave Matapour a hug and spoke to him briefly.
With Bhatti’s testimony, the evidence in the June 25 case has ended, before proceedings will be held next week.
