First, what the court describes as a ‘ruthless’ gang of girls attacked the 13-year-old in Bjørvika, Oslo. Whilst she was waiting for her stepfather to pick her up, they tracked her down and attacked her again. Two Somali girls have now been convicted.
The 13-year-old girl lay curled up on the ground, trying to protect her head as the blows and kicks rained down on her. Other youths stood around her. Some were filming.
“Hit her harder then,” a girl’s voice urged repeatedly.
After the attack, the 13-year-old rang her stepfather, who was due to pick her up at Aker Brygge. But before she made it home, several of the girls tracked her down again using an app that showed her location.
About two hours after the first attack, one of the girls dragged her to the ground again by her hair.
“It was that easy,” she said.
On 28 September, Oslo District Court sentenced two girls for their involvement in the violence. Both were 15 years old when the incidents took place on 12 April 2025.
The girl who took part in both attacks was given an eight-month youth sentence. The other was given a 60-day suspended prison sentence for her involvement in the first assault.
The court reduced both sentences because the case had taken too long.
The victim is of Asian descent, whilst the two convicted girls are both of Somali descent.
Knew the girl was going to be beaten up
According to the judgement, a large group of girls gathered at Oslo S before the first assault. One of the defendants estimated that there were between 15 and 20 of them.
Another girl is then said to have stated that she was going to beat up the 13-year-old. The group then walked towards Bjørvika, where the 13-year-old was sitting on a bench with a friend.
Both of the convicted girls knew in advance that the girl was to be subjected to violence. The motive, however, remains unclear, the court states.
One girl asked the 13-year-old to come a little way out of the way to have a chat. When she followed, the older of the two convicted girls pulled her backwards by her hair, causing her to fall to the ground.
Several others then attacked her.
Video footage shows the girls punching and kicking the girl whilst the 13-year-old tried to defend herself. A total of four girls took part in the punching and kicking, according to the court’s description.
One of the convicted girls struck approximately eight blows to the upper body, arms and legs. She then kicked her four times in the legs. The second girl punched and kicked at the same time as the others.
The assault lasted for approximately 40 seconds.
The 13-year-old explained that she felt like a ball when the kicks landed. The girls left her sitting on her knees with her hands over her head.
Found her again whilst she was waiting for help
The youngest of the two convicted girls went home after the assault in Bjørvika. She explained that she regretted it and felt terrible after what she had been involved in.
The older one continued the evening with other young people.
About two hours later, the girls located the 13-year-old’s whereabouts via an app. She was sitting on a bench at Aker Brygge with her friend, waiting for her stepfather.
Several young people approached them. When the 13-year-old and her friend tried to walk away, several of them followed.
The girl was surrounded.
The eldest of the two convicted girls grabbed her by the hair from behind and dragged her down onto the tarmac. Other girls then punched and kicked her in the head.
During the assault, another girl repeatedly pulled her backwards by her hair, causing her head to hit the cobblestones.
The court describes how the thuds can be heard on the footage, and how the 13-year-old screams and cries. She tried to protect her head with her hands.
Others stood around watching. Some filmed it.
“The video gives the impression that NN and those who actively perpetrated the violence are ruthless,” the court writes of the oldest convicted person and the other perpetrators.
Although the 13-year-old had a friend present, she was in reality alone, the court concluded. No one intervened to help.
The videos spread the humiliation further
The violence ended, but the footage lived on.
The video from Bjørvika was shared with many others. Since then, people have contacted the 13-year-old and asked if it was her they saw being beaten up.
She explained that the filming and sharing of the footage made the situation worse. She found it embarrassing and did not want to be remembered as the girl in the violence video.
One of the convicted men explained that filming violence is ‘a thing in Oslo’, and that as a victim, you are showing weakness. The court emphasised that the filming was an additional humiliating factor.
After the second assault, the police drove the 13-year-old to A&E. She was found to have a lump on the back of her head and was later diagnosed with concussion. She also suffered bruising and headaches.
The girl had previously struggled with social anxiety. The violence exacerbated her anxiety and made it more difficult for her to go out with friends. She also described having trouble sleeping and a reduced appetite following the incidents.
The court considers it to be a matter of chance that the violence did not have more serious consequences.
The case was pending for months – the sentence was reduced
Both defendants pleaded guilty in court. The District Court convicted them of aiding and abetting grievous bodily harm.
The court placed particular emphasis on the fact that the violence took the form of an assault, that several people attacked a single defenceless person, and that the victim was only 13 years old.
Nevertheless, the time that elapsed before the case came to court led to significant reductions in the sentences.
Seventeen months had passed since the assaults. The case remained pending for six to seven months without a decision on whether to prosecute.
‘In a case such as this, involving such young offenders, that is a long time, particularly as all those involved were under the age of 18,’ the court writes.
For both girls, the court considered that the lengthy processing time warranted a reduction in the sentence of approximately one-third. Further reductions were applied on account of their young age and their confessions.
For the older girl, the court took as its starting point that the two assaults together would have resulted in an adult receiving a prison sentence of approximately seven to eight months. After the reductions, the court set the prison sentence – as an alternative to the youth sentence – at 120 days.
She is to serve an eight-month youth sentence. If she breaches the conditions or commits a further offence, she risks having to serve the alternative prison sentence.
Rejected community service
In the case of the youngest of the convicted, the court considered that community service would have been the most natural response.
However, neither the girl nor her guardian consented. Consequently, the court was unable to impose community service on her.
