The terrorist attack on 25 June 2022 killed two and injured at least 21.
For almost eight weeks, the trial against Zaniar Matapour has been going on in Oslo District Court’s largest courtroom.
There has always been tension linked to whether Arfan Bhatti, who the police believe may have influenced Matapour, would testify in court.
Shortly after court was set on Tuesday morning, Bhatti took the witness stand.
Today it is planned that Arfan Bhatti will testify in the case against Zaniar Matapour.
Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
Shaking hands at Matapour
When Bhatti entered the courtroom, he shook Matapour’s hand. The two kissed each other on the cheek and Matapour briefly told Bhatti that he “looked as good as ever”.
– A good friend, Bhatti replies, when the judge asks about his relationship with Matapour.
When prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø asks Bhatti if he had anything to do with the attack on 25 June, Bhatti answers with a question:
– My answer to that is why can’t I see registered personal and case information about me at the Ministry of Justice?
Previously, NRK has referred to a letter written by Bhatti, in which he explains why he does not want to be questioned in connection with the case.
The fact that he is not given access to investigations carried out in connection with him by the police and PST, among others, is one of the reasons:
Bhatti reads out the letter he wrote when the Norwegian police went down and tried to question him in Pakistan in January this year.
– I have not contributed in any way to the action of Zaniar, and know as little about this as anyone else.
He criticizes the Norwegian authorities for not helping him when he was under the control of the military police in Pakistan.
– So you think that the state of Norway has committed an injustice against you?, asks Henriksbø.
– Yes, they have contributed, answers Bhatti.
Answered with new questions
To several of the questions Henriksbø asks, Bhatti answers with new questions.
– The setting when you sit in the witness box is that I am the one asking the questions, says the prosecutor.
– Let me answer as I want, answered Bhatti.
When he is told by the judge to answer the questions put to him, Bhatti replies that his defense has always said that he does not want to answer questions.
– I will answer what I think is the right answer, said Bhatti.
– Then you can keep it short, replied the judge.
Bhatti was also asked if he wanted to say anything more about Zaniar Matapour. Bhatti answered with a new question about the Norwegian authorities.
The plane that transported Arfan Bhatti from Pakistan to Norway, when it landed in the military area of Gardermoen last Friday.
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
The support group: – Wasted
When asked what Espen Evjenth, leader of the support group after the attack, thinks about Bhatti’s certificate, he replies that today was a waste.
– What we in the audience think is that this was really just a waste of time. It was nothing new. There was no explanation, says Evjenth.
– Had you hoped for more answers today?
– It was actually somewhat as expected. But at the same time it is important that he was there. Now this has been done and there is another step on the way forward in this legal process.
Espen Evjenth leads the Support Group on 25 June.
Photo: Tobias Sakrisvold Martinsen / NRK
Reading from the interview in January
Prosecutor Henriksbø says he has finished trying to ask Bhatti questions. He continues by reading from the interrogations of Bhatti done in Pakistan on January 30 and 31.
– Afterwards, I want to ask if you have anything to fill in and elaborate on what is written there, says Henriksbø.
The prosecutor reads a quote from Bhatti, where he talks about Zaniar Matapour.
– The accused says that he does not have much negative to say about Zaniar, and that people judge with borrowed ears. The accused perceives him as completely different from what others do, reads the prosecutor.
Bhatti sits and looks at the screen in front of him, while Henriksbø continues to read. After a while, he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.
Before the court was set on Tuesday. Arfan Bhatti has not wanted to be photographed in connection with his testimony.
Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
When Henriksbø has finished reading from the interrogations, he asks if there is anything Bhatti would like to elaborate on. Bhatti responds again with a question as to why he is not getting the information he is requesting.
Defender for Zaniar Matapour, Marius Dietrichson, says based on this that he does not want to ask questions.
Christian Lundin, coordinating assistance lawyer, asks what Bhatti thinks about what the victims have explained in court.
– It is tragic for them, but I am so far from this case here and that action, so I have no further comments, replies Bhatti, who has now finished his diploma.
As he left the courtroom, he and Matapour smiled at each other. He gave Matapour a long hug and they said something to each other before he was led out.
Will not testify
Bhatti has been in Pakistani security police custody since autumn 2022.
Last week it became clear that he will be brought home to Norway, after a long extradition process. At the weekend he was imprisoned in Kongsvinger prison, charged with the attack on 25 June.
Bhatti has notified through his lawyer that he does not want to say anything in the district court. However, two court days have been set aside for his testimony.
Prosecutor Henriksbø asked early in the questioning of Bhatti whether the access requirement in the investigation against him was real, or whether it was used to avoid testifying.
To that, Bhatti replied that the demand for access was “very” real.
– It’s something we’ve been working on since 2018, Bhatti replies.
Published 07.05.2024, at 09.11 Updated 07.05.2024, at 13.16