– All clues have been proven correct – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

Aas began working in the section for organized crime in the Oslo police district in 2009, and thus became Jensen’s boss. Aas is one of several high-profile police officers who in various court rounds have testified in the case against Jensen.

Among other things, Aas has explained that as early as 2003 he received reports of concern about an unfaithful servant in the Oslo police district.

However, he did not want to comment further on the case to the press until there is a final trial.

It happened yesterday, when the Supreme Court roundly rejected Jensen’s appeal. This ends the case in Norwegian courts and means that Jensen must serve his 21-year prison sentence.

– I do not look at it any other way than to affirm that all the clues have been proven correct. So it was important to get the business out, and court proceedings show it was right to take action, Aas tells NRK.

Aas says that Jensen was a controversial figure in the police, something he was aware of himself.

– It goes without saying that when at the time a process began that was difficult, because it could be wrong and unfair, but in which it was gradually more certain that there were owls in the moss, then the verdict is very satisfactory, he says .

– An inflamed case

Rumors related to Eirik Jensen’s close contact with Gjermund Cappelen as early as 2000 have been reported to the court by several police officers from the Asker and Bærum police district. Aas, who worked in Asker and Bærum, has explained to the court that he did not he was familiar with the rumors at the time. .

When Aas became Jensen’s leader in 2009, he received several reports of concern about Jensen. He has explained that he raised the concerns with the police district leadership, but that nothing was done.

– What I mentioned was that he had a reputation and a cruel reputation, Aas said in court.

He doesn’t hide the fact that it was difficult to focus on one of his own.

– It has been an inflamed and difficult case to tackle, precisely because you could be wrong. When it comes to that kind of information from many industries, you really have a duty to address it. It was done and it got the snowball started rolling, Aas says today.

The warnings consisted of innuendo and accusations, according to Aas.

– It was rumors. I think, in short, you have to admit that you can turn the saying “I don’t believe it until I see it.” I think you have to say “you don’t see it until you believe it.” It was so amazing and it was so difficult. It started with a controversial service and ended with verdicts that are now damning, Aas says.

Reject personal conflict

According to Aas, it was that he took the background warnings that Jensen left his position as head of Special Operations in the Oslo police district.

The two ended up in what has been repeatedly described as a long and bitter personnel conflict. Jensen eventually fell ill, before shifting to strategic staff in 2013.

The position on staff, which consisted of advising the chief of police, Jensen had largely prepared himself.

In court, he has been interpreted, among other things, by an audio recording of a conversation between Aas and Jensen, in which Aas expresses that Jensen’s free role in the police is untenable. In the recording, Aas also asks Jensen what he spends his days with.

The recording was made in secret by Jensen.

Jensen has described the relationship as “a meeting between two alpha males”, where there was no room for both. The text messages between them showed, among other things, that Aas asked Jensen to “get off”.

However, Aas claims today that he never had a personal conflict with Jensen.

– There is one side of the problem that I really don’t like. Attempts have been made to present it as a conflict between the Asker and Bærum police districts and the Oslo police district. In my opinion, it was not. Asker and Bærum pointed out irregularities in Oslo.

– It is also presented as a conflict between Eirik Jensen and myself. I have never had a conflict with Eirik Jensen. I was a boss who took action as a result of the information available. It doesn’t belong to the conflict chapter in my life, it belongs to leadership responsibilities, says Aas.

– It was a pair of olme bulls

Aas says that he was able to speak to Jensen during the last round of court and that the atmosphere was relaxed at the time.

– In the first rounds of the court, there were a couple of elm bulls sitting in this room. It was a slightly different frame of mind last time. It wasn’t problematic, he says.

– To what extent are you jointly responsible for his sentence?

– I don’t know if I like that rhetoric. I have played a role in the revelations and hints that came through. It turned out to be right. It was important that this activity be revealed and that he has now been convicted of it, Aas says.

– I could have acted before

Colleagues have explained in court that they reacted to Jensen’s behavior and appearance on several occasions between 2000 and 2011. However, it was not until December 2013 that the armed police arrested Jensen.

The latest ruling by the Court of Appeal criticizes Jensen’s leaders in the Oslo police. Among other things, he states that “it appears that this is a qualified failure in following Jensen’s work routines and tasks.”

– Do you feel beaten?

– You can say that, because if you’re going to criticize me for something – and I also said it in court – it’s because I didn’t act before. But it was as a result of the fact that if one fails, it has dire consequences for the person in question. It is a matter of speeding up little by little in such a case, and I did.

– It would have been intolerable if such things were allowed to continue to live in the police, says Aas.

– Easy to kick someone lying down

Eirik Jensen has always denied criminal guilt.

Although Jensen’s defense attorney, John Christian Elden, acknowledges that there are no further appeal options in Norway, he has suggested that it is possible to attack the verdict internationally or request a reopening.

NRK has provided Elden with a series of quotes from Aas in this case. Elden responds to the following in an email to NRK:

– It is always easy to kick someone who is down, but there may be reasons to wait for the announced investigation of the police and police officers in this case before drawing too many conclusions.

Positive for evaluation

Police Director Benedicte Bjørnland has announced that the police will be evaluated “to see if there are learning points after the Jensen case.” Aas is positive about this.

– This was a very unfortunate case for the police, there is no doubt about that. But once it was as bad as it was, at least it was cleaned up by the police. It is at least a fact that you can clean your own nest. There are reasons to praise the maids who took on the very unpleasant task of leading an effort and investigation against a colleague, he says.

– Do you think we’re completely done with the Jensen case?

– I think a lot of people want to forget this case very quickly. To be a bit blunt in the language used: this is a horrible and nasty case for the police. I don’t think it’s a topic of conversation. On the other hand, I think it’s important when it comes to what not to do. So it’s important to extract some points from an evaluation, says Aas.