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The trial begins Monday at Ringerike District Court, where 16 residents have sued the state and the AUF over the memorial site scheduled for July 22 in Utøyakaia, opposite Utøya in Hole municipality.
The 16 neighbors participated in the rescue of young people during the terrorist attack in Utøya on July 22, 2011, which killed 69 people, most of them young people at the AUF summer camp. Neighbors believe that such a nearby memorial will re-traumatize them.
– These are some of the clients that concern me a lot. They have had the largest terrorist attack in Norwegian history here, they have saved lives and experienced the loss of life at their hands. Several have been on sick leave for years. They may find themselves in a situation where the psychological pressure is so great that it can be a danger to them and their families. If it is built, they may have to move, the neighbors’ legal advisor, attorney Ole Hauge Bendiksen, tells NTB.
He says the neighbors are not against creating a memorial site, but they want a different location.
You can take the case to EMD
Before the weekend, the neighbors lost an appeal in the Borgarting Court of Appeal to stop the construction of the monument pending the outcome of the next trial. This means that Statsbygg will continue construction to complete the 10th anniversary commemorative site of the terrorist attack next summer.
Therefore, the memorial site will in all likelihood be completed before a final judgment is available.
The AUF and the state want to place the national memorial site after the July 22 terrorist attack in Utøykaia opposite Utøya, where 69 people were killed on July 22, 2011. 16 neighbors have gone to court to stop the memorial site. Here from an inspection of the pier earlier this fall. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
Bendiksen says neighbors still believe it is important and correct to carry out the trial.
– There are many examples of how you can win even after you have built something. If we win in district court, it is also possible to file a new petition for an interim injunction, he says.
Bendiksen says that, if necessary, he is prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
– This is a case in which we have great support in the EMD jurisprudence in cases where the so-called social interests invoked are opposed to damages to families, homes and local communities. There, the EMD has repeatedly bypassed states, he says.
Neighbors believe that the memorial site is contrary to both the Neighborhood Law and Article 8 of the European Commission on Human Rights, which among other things deals with the right to respect for private life, family life and home.
AUF: – Will not cause damage
AUF process assistant Pål Martin Sand says it is now important for the AUF, survivors and family members to leave the process behind and establish a national monument.
He says AUF wants to make it clear during the trial that it is a memorial site that will not be visible from the road or from the plaintiffs’ homes.
– Many adjustments have been made to accommodate the wishes of the plaintiffs, and we believe that the establishment of this memorial site itself will not lead to additional psychological or harm. We have also received support for this from leading professional settings within trauma psychology, Sand tells NTB.
The AUF and the State, among other things, will lead several specialists in psychiatry and trauma who will testify to support this.
The state’s legal advisor, Government Advocate attorney Anders Wilhelmsen, says the process around the memorial site has been long and thorough and approved by both the government and the Municipality of Hole.
– The state wants this case to be closed, so that those affected can move forward, he says.
Ten days have been set aside for the trial. A total of 27 witnesses will be called.
