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PRISON REQUESTED: On Friday, the 16-year-old will be taken into custody at the Oslo District Court. Photo: Espen Sjølingstad Hoen
The day after the Police Security Service (PST) received “disturbing” information about a 16-year-old boy in Oslo, they took action and arrested him. He is now incarcerated for two weeks.
The 16-year-old of Syrian origin is accused of terrorist preparations. Denies criminal guilt.
– We received information from the preventive unit at PST on Wednesday that made us choose to act quickly, says police attorney Thomas Blom at PST.
The next day, that is, Thursday, the young Syrian was arrested in Oslo. The information provided to the prosecution is described as “disturbing”. The arrest was carried out without drama, according to the security service.
– We are in an initial phase of the investigation. We have arrested and searched. Data and physical seizures have been made, which will now be reviewed. It will take time, says the police attorney.
On Friday afternoon, the 16-year-old defendant was presented for custody at the Oslo District Court. The court hearing was held behind closed doors due to the young age of the accused and the risk of loss of evidence.
On Friday, the Oslo District Court confirmed the PST’s request for custody for two weeks. The ruling shows the right to information in the report that proves that the accused has been in contact with “dangerous substances.”
– Until now it has not wanted to give explanations to the police, answers the lawyer of the police.
DEFENDANT: Andreas Berg Fevang before Friday’s prison meeting at the Oslo District Court. Photo: NTB
The PST does not want to answer questions about the defendant’s possible ties to other Islamists in Norway or whether they anticipate further arrests.
However, the police lawyer confirms VG’s information that the 16-year-old’s terrorist preparations were directed at Norway.
The 16-year-old’s defender, lawyer Andreas Berg Fevang, says the client denies his criminal guilt and wants to be released.
– We believe that incarceration is disproportionate to his young age, Fevang tells VG.
He does not want to comment further on the case or answer questions about why the client has so far not explained himself to the police.
The 16-year-old is accused of violating paragraph 3 of Penal Code 131 which deals with preparations for terrorism, reports the Senior Adviser of the PST: Martin Bernsen to VG.
The boy is a Syrian citizen.
According to information from VG, PST believes that the 16-year-old is sympathetic to ISIS. It is said that he came to Norway from Syria through family reunification.
According to information from VG, PST does not rule out further arrests in the case.
In the PST threat assessment for 2020, terrorist attacks carried out by people motivated by extreme right-wing or extreme Islamist ideology are cited as one of the most serious threats to the country. The threat assessment for 2021 will be presented on Monday.
