Five men, four of them with immigrant backgrounds, are charged with an aggravated robbery in which a Norwegian lawyer was threatened with a knife, had his hands bound and was locked inside his own bathroom. The robbers made off with Rolex watches worth USD 60,000.
It was around 1.00 a.m. on Wednesday, 24 April 2024. Three men entered the lawyer’s flat, which is located in a fashionable area of central Oslo. They threatened him with a knife, utility knife and scissors. They then bound his hands with rope and locked him inside the bathroom.
This emerges from the indictment issued by the Oslo Public Prosecutors’ Office, which Document has read.
While the lawyer was confined, the robbers took a Rolex Yacht-Master 42, worth around NOK 365,000, and a Rolex GMT2 ‘Batman’, worth around NOK 200,000. They also took an iPhone 15, a PlayStation controller, NOK 2,500 and €1,000 in cash.
It was not until approximately six hours later, at around 7.30 a.m., that the lawyer managed to break out of the bathroom.
The prosecution believes the robbery was carefully planned. According to the indictment, it is aggravated because a particularly dangerous implement was used to make threats, because it was planned in detail and because it involved a substantial value.
– It does not appear to be a coincidence that it was precisely there, public prosecutor Andreas Schei tells VG.
The three who entered the flat are now aged 20, 22 and 25. They are charged with aggravated robbery and deprivation of liberty. Two men, aged 24 and 28, are charged with complicity. According to the indictment, they took part in planning the robbery, selected the lawyer as the target and arranged for the stolen goods to be disposed of afterwards.
Four of the men have immigrant backgrounds; the fifth is Norwegian.
In the case of the 28-year-old, the prosecution refers to Section 79(b) of the Penal Code, the provision concerning repeat offending. It permits a more severe sentence for someone who has previously been convicted of similar offences. Several of the defendants have previous convictions, VG writes.
The maximum penalty for aggravated robbery is twelve years’ imprisonment.
The 22-year-old and the 24-year-old deny criminal liability, their defence lawyers tell VG. The other three do not wish to comment on the case.
The lawyer himself does not wish to speak about what happened. He has not submitted a claim for compensation.
– He just wants to put it behind him, counsel for the aggrieved party Rolf Jacob Cappelen tells VG.
The case was originally due to be heard earlier this year, but was postponed. The trial begins in Oslo District Court on 13 October, two and a half years after the lawyer was locked inside the bathroom.
