On Monday 24th February, criminal proceedings began against two immigrant men, aged 23 and 32 respectively, almost three years after an assault robbery that took place on Tuesday 7th June 2022 outside Oslo City Hall, where a young ethnic Norwegian man was brutally beaten, kicked and robbed.
The case had been postponed due to difficulties in the investigation, including tracking down the suspects, who had gone underground. The defendants were charged with robbery and complicity in robbery, i.e. for violation of section 327, cf. section 15 of the Penal Code, for intentionally causing violence to a person with the intention of obtaining an unauthorised gain for themselves or others, and thereby appropriating an object belonging to another.
The reason for the act of violence was that the defendants had got into a fight with an African gang outside a bar where the victim is said to have intervened to mediate. The offender is said to have been urged to leave and not interfere, but remained. That’s when the violence started against him in the form of kicks and punches to the face.
The young man, who was only out to enjoy the summer evening with his friends after a lovely day at the seaside, suddenly finds himself in the middle of a nightmare of brutal violence. He starts to run away from the men, who chase him around City Hall Square, where he is beaten and kicked repeatedly while lying down.
They also take a Gucci belt from him before calmly strolling on. The beaten man lies bleeding on the ground with a broken nose. The police quickly arrive on the scene and want to take him to the police station, but he insists that he just wants to go home and is clearly in a state of shock. The next day he sees a doctor, where he is diagnosed with a broken nose and hearing damage to his right ear, as well as a battered body.
The first victim explained in court that he had suffered problems with his head after the attack. He was clearly traumatised, but appeared credible, calm, vulnerable and careful. He said very little and stood there almost like a frightened baby bird. He told the court that he stayed indoors for the first six months after the assault, and as a result he lost his job as a carpenter. He sought help from DPS, but was refused. He appeared polite and did not recognise the serious accusations made against him by the defendants. They claimed that the victim had said that he wanted to rape his sisters and their mothers. He gently but firmly insisted that he would never have said such a thing, as he comes from a well-behaved family.
The defendants claimed that they were too drunk to remember much about the time of the crime. However, they claimed to remember all the details of the offender’s behaviour and claimed that he had made threats and insults.
The culprits arrive in the courtroom displaying great arrogance and haughtiness. They seem completely insensitive to the criminal act they have committed. Two of their friends sit in the courtroom as spectators. They often glance over at me, who is taking notes. One of them actually comes up to me during the break and asks if I’m press. I briefly answer “yes” and move on. They all seem completely indifferent to the situation – in fact, they almost seem to be gloating. They start laughing when the video footage of the attack is shown in court. They seem to be enjoying the fact that an ethnic Norwegian has been beaten up. The judge reprimands them and asks them to respect the court or leave the courtroom.
Their entire body language and attitudes express total disrespect. Both the defendants and their friends sit and yawn. In fact, they seem completely unfazed, almost as if they’re sitting at the back of a classroom where they’re being taught something that bores them. They ooze arrogance towards our country, our legal system and our people.
I am also surprised that two of the lay judges appear to have a similar immigrant background to the accused. How can we have full confidence that they will be able to be one hundred per cent objective?
Both defendants have immigrant backgrounds and Norwegian citizenship. One of them arrives with a police escort. He has already been remanded in custody for other offences. He has no education, no income and no job, and also has a debt of NOK 1 million. The other is a family man and health care worker.
For the undersigned, it seems incomprehensible and frightening that a father of two and health care worker in the care service can brutally assault and kick a young man who is lying down and covering his head to protect himself.
The defendants say they got to know each other through Friday prayers at the mosque, where they meet regularly. Both plead “partially guilty” to the charge of violent robbery, but apologise and downplay the violence. It is clear that they are lying and that they have coordinated what to say and what not to say. The prosecutor asks one of the defendants how he wants to deal with a prison sentence. The defendant asks for a light community sentence, as he has both children and a job.
The first victim appears in court without a defence lawyer. A broken young Norwegian man, vulnerable and fragile. He appears well-mannered, but clearly frightened and traumatised, and explains himself briefly. He tells the court in a weak voice about a brutal attack in which his nose was broken and he suffered hearing damage as a result of punches and kicks to the head. In his life, there is a “before and after” of the assault.
The defendants have come forward with a statement denying that they hit him on the head. They “embellish” their stories and portray themselves almost as victims. But when the prosecutor shows the video footage from City Hall Square and the bar where the incident took place, they look at each other uncertainly across the courtroom. “They know they’ve lied in court. Among other things, they insisted that they had not kicked the victim in the head, but this is clearly shown in the surveillance video.
The case was sentenced on 4 March. The 23-year-old, who was most active during the violence, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, including an additional sentence for a previous offence, aggravated robbery and deprivation of liberty. The 32-year-old is acquitted of the robbery charge, but is found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to – brace yourself – 75 hours of community service.
An ordinary day in Oslo District Court, one case among many that do not interest other reporters. Out of sight, out of mind – but not for a broken young Norwegian, who is awarded NOK 27,000 in compensation.