Norway 2025
07/01/2025: As more inforation and data are collected throughout investigations, the Oslo Police has declared that they would charge Arfan Bhatti with complicity in aggravated terrorism in their recommendation submitted to the Public Prosecution in Oslo. Bhatti was extradited from Pakistan to Norway in May 2024 over suspicions of involvement in the 2022 Oslo shootings. He is currently detained with two other suspects, yet he denies any role played in the attack and has reportedly exercised his right not to give a statement about the circumstances of the charges. Should the Court ever aprove the charges against him in his upcoming trial, he would be faced with a maximum penalty of thirty years. (Source)
23/01/2025: The two Norwegian-Somali sisters from Bærum who departed to Syria in 2013 when they were 16 and 19 year-old and returned to Norway in March 2023, were sentenced by the Oslo District Court to four years in prison for the eldest and two years in prison, one year of which is suspended, for the youngest. Their trial began on October 16, 2024 and they were charged with marrying foreign warriors and having tried to get other Norwegian women to join IS. The eldest sister is said to have attended Sharia courses and "handled incidents and reactions" against women who were seen as enemies of IS whereas the youngest sister is said to have been preparing to start a military training camp for IS women. It was also pointed out during the trial that the eldest sister even ran a lucrative cryptocurrency banking system from the al-Hol camp where she was detained. Both women denied any wrongdoings and claimed that they went to Syria in 2013 to assist local population but they were later coerced into joining IS to survive. Both sisters have unexpectedly decided to appeal the verdict on February 6, 2025. (Source)
24/01/2025: Oslo State Attorney, Sturla Henriksbø, stated that the new authorities in Damascus are not helping in the repatriation of terrorism suspect Aisha Kausar who was charged with complicity in the 2022 Oslo shootings in November 2023. The downfall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024 paved the way for Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS), an Islamist group once based in Idlib which formed a new Government. The new leaders of Syria do not tolerate the control of Kurdish groups over the Syrian Northern regions where al-Hol and al-Roj camps are located. Relocation operations have started yet it does not seem that they are stricly monitored and implemented with the contribution of Damascus. Aisha Kausar denies any criminal responsibility yet she does not wish to return to Norway. (Source)
30/01/2025: Zaniar Matapour has withdrawn his appeal to the March 2024 verdict. Consequently, his historic sentence of thirty years in prison remains valid. Even though Matapour was already judged and punished for the 2022 Oslo shootings as the main culprit, the trial is still ongoing as four other suspects are under investigation and charged with aggravated terrorism namely, Arfan Bhatti, Aisha Kaushar and a 37-year-old and a 47-year-old men who were sworn to IS. Arfan Bhatti was extradited from Pakistan, where he was hiding, to Norway on May 3, 2024. Aisha Kausar remains detained in Syria and rejected every offer to return to Norway. Both deny any wrongdoings. (Source)
05/02/2025: PST has published the updated version of their yearly terrorism threat assessment for 2025. The report clearly states that Islamism is considered by Norwegian authorities to be a greater threat than the Far-Right. Specific concerns were shared by authorities regarding the growing radicalization of children. The war between Israel and Palestine heavily contributed to this negative trend that is expected to continue. If the main threat still comes from individuals inspired and involved in the networks of IS and Al-Qaeda, new networks of young Islamists are on the rise especially via encrypted platforms where propaganda media are massively shared. According to this assessment, there is "an even chance that Islamist extremism will attempt to carry out terrorist attacks in Norway in 2025" with the LGBT, Jewish and Christian communities pointed out as the most relevant targets. (Source)