– It was a shock – VG

On Thursday morning, the former justice minister took the witness stand in room 250 of the Oslo District Court. There he is offended in the criminal case against his threatened cohabitant, Laila Bertheussen.

She denies all accusations of attacks on democracy, through arson, damage and threats against leading politicians, including Tor Mikkel Wara.

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The former Justice Minister arrived in the courtroom wearing a black suit, white shirt and dark tie. In his hands he carried white A4 sheets. Wara does not have the duty to explain the case since he lives with the accused, but he wants to explain himself in court.

VG’s Astrid Meland comments: “This does NOT have to be there yet”

– I mean that she is not far behind

Federal prosecutor Frederik G. Ranke began the interrogation of the former Minister of Justice, accusing him of the prosecution episodes from March 6, 2018 to March 10, 2019. Then, Ranke wanted to know what Wara was thinking when the partner was arrested for the first time .

– The arrest was a shock. A surprise. I didn’t think she was behind any of the incidents, Wara explains in court.

The former Minister of Justice is today a counselor and partner of the First House. In a police questioning a few hours after Bertheussen’s arrest, Wara explained that it was “totally inexplicable to him.”

– In case I had to do it by mistake. It was just a matter of the car fire, Wara explained to police at the time.

The prosecutor believes that Wara never established that Bertheussen was behind in his questioning with the police.

-I want to say that she is not far behind, but I cannot establish if I was in Liverpool and in Oslo, she answers today.

– Has something similar happened afterwards? asks the Attorney General.

– No, but then the police leaked that there were hidden cameras, so nobody wants to try, Wara responds.

– There we disagree, says Ranke.

Imitator

The former Justice Minister further says that he perceived the first threat episode in early December 2018 as a random mockery.

– There was graffiti and accusations of racism. Obviously a political message, but it could have been anyone, he explains.

Wara believes that the subsequent events had a more concrete message and, among other things, were directly addressed to the cohabitant, since he had presented a review of the controversial work “Ways of seeing”.

– Then there will be more threatening letters. So it is natural to think that it is an order. The letters had different styles. I also thought it might be a copycat, he explains.

The former Minister of Justice says that the events did not affect his life as Minister of State. He had bodyguards and was never alone.

– For a while, it meant that there was a uniformed car on the street, it was probably uncomfortable for the neighbors, but not for me, he explains.

– Eaten the family events? asks the Attorney General.

– In most cases, only Laila and I were at home. Sometimes there was an argument between Laila and I about what this could be for something. But that didn’t change the routines at home, Wara responds.

He further explains that it was a recurring problem that individual cameras in the home did not work, and that this was more of a problem than threats.

– Did you report the bugs before Bertheussen was arrested? asks the Attorney General.

– No, I can’t remember. She wasn’t home much, she replies.

– The attacks were not personal

Wara is clear that he believes the attacks were not personal.

– I represented Frp. That criticism was part of a political process and a horse trade. When you say racist about me, it is an attack on Frp, not on me, he explains.

– Did you have to pay attention to the threats there? asks the Attorney General.

– No, what I did was follow the recommendations of the police. I did the same before the threats came, Wara responds.

– How did you react to the play “Ways of seeing”? Ranke asks.

– The play itself was pretty ridiculous. Then it is clear that you advertise with “We see you through the window. (…) purketryner …”, then you can start announcing who these people are. It was a rather cynical public relations strategy that a theater filled their

The former Minister of Justice believes that the play filming the family home was wrong.

– It is wrong to enter the plot, but it is also wrong to get involved in that kind of conspiracy theories. It’s expensive to advertise, but it’s cheap to stand on dax18, he explains.