The Storting reacts to Saudi Arabia and diplomatic immunity

– It is very serious if a Saudi artist has been threatened with silence in Norway. I hope that the Foreign Minister will call the ambassador on the carpet.

SV leader Audun Lysbakken tells Dagbladet. He reacts strongly to Dagbladet’s revelation that the Saudi Arabian embassy in Oslo sought out a Saudi artist who participated in the Bergen International Literature Festival (LitFestBergen) in 2019.

From various sources, Dagbladet received confirmation that the artist disappeared without a trace for several hours, and left one of the events planned at the festival, after the embassy visited her. The PST conducted several interrogations in the case.

– They had traveled to her hotel, threatened her and told her that she shouldn’t show up for anything but travel to Saudi Arabia, said festival director Teresa Grøtan.

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Oslo has not responded to Dagbladet’s questions about the case.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened

Dagbladet has also revealed that the Foreign Ministry intervened when Saudi Arabia wanted diplomatic status granted to a ten-man security force, who work for the oil-rich kingdom’s embassy in Oslo. The security team arrived in Norway in July 2018. Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the PST were involved in the case, which ended with Norway refusing to issue diplomatic visas to nine of the ten security officers.

The PST has linked the incident to Iyad el-Baghdadi, a well-known Saudi critic and friend of the murdered Jamal Khashoggi who lives at a secret address in Norway. Baghdadi and Khashoggi met in Oslo in May 2018. The Saudi Arabian embassy described the case to Dagbladet as “false and fabricated allegations”, but later explained to Dagbladet that the security force was necessary to ensure the staffing of the 24 hours both at the embassy and at the ambassador’s residence.

That case also provoked strong political reactions.

He sent ten mysterious men to Norway

Must record

Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Storting, announces that she will discuss the revelations with Ine Eriksen Søreide.

– Dagbladet reveals are serious, but unfortunately not surprising. In recent years, we have seen how far those in power in Saudi Arabia are willing to go with critical voices. Now, from the Storting, I will raise these questions with the Foreign Minister, Huitfeldt tells Dagbladet.

Seeks Joe Biden for help after Dagbladet reveals

Red leader Bjørnar Moxnes also reacts strongly to the revelations.

– Red is not surprised by what comes out here. If you do not stand up when a regime beheads and dissents the representatives of freedom of expression, unfortunately there will be more and more cases of this type, in which the life, safety and freedom of expression of people are threatened, Moxnes says to Dagbladet.

– The Saudi regime is not only one of the worst regimes in the world, it is also one of the closest allies of the United States, and Solberg for too long has looked the other way and pursued affirmative action. Diplomats from other countries have been expelled from Norway for incidents that have taken place in other countries, where no lives have been lost and where no evidence of the accusations has been presented. No matter how many Saudis behead, celebrate, no matter how many kill and starve during the war against Yemen, which has caused the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe, we are not aware of any punitive reaction from Norway. Rødt calls for a more offensive line against Saudi Arabia and believes that what Dagbladet has revealed reinforces the need for tougher measures.

Moxnes continues:

– Over time, we have seen the Saudis abuse diplomatic immunity to restrict freedom of expression, and we ask for a government response to this. The government cannot credibly claim to take this seriously, while hiding behind police investigations.

Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide has so far declined to comment on the Dagbladet cases.