Was in the middle of the terrorist drama – had to contact the police after 1.5 years – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country

– It goes on repeat in my head. We stood there and considered whether someone suddenly came and shot into the emergency exit, or whether we would be shot in the back when we ran towards the Courthouse, says Kasper Ueland to NRK.

From the time he escaped through the emergency exit in the basement of a London pub, until he was questioned by the police, 1.5 years passed.

Ueland was in the basement of the London pub the other night. June 25, 2022. The shootings of Zaniar Matapour killed two and injured nine more that night.

Two weeks ago, the trial against him began. But the police still do not have an overview of everyone who has been offended in the case.

The friend Ueland was with that evening was in for questioning shortly after the attack. But even though he gave Ueland’s contact details during the interview, Ueland was never contacted, he says.

He tried to forget about the incident, but realized in the first week of the trial that it didn’t work. He then called the police, but was told that the investigation had ended.

After talking to the Support Group on 25 June, he realized that this was not true.

New contact with the police led to questioning and status as victim. Ueland has shown NRK documentation of this.

– It was a bit like a bar was lifted off my shoulders, he says.

– Have to take this into my own hands

The first part of the trial has concerned the aggrieved parties. For two weeks, the court has heard testimony from people who were shot, who provided first aid and who helped put Zaniar Matapour to the ground that night.

The police have also explained how they have worked to map those who were present that night.

It then emerged that the number of victims has risen from 269 to 271 since the trial began. One of these is Ueland.

The police have received several such inquiries, and therefore call the number of victims dynamic, police officer Ingrid Mengaaen Jakobsen explained in court.

– When the trial came up, what I had tried to put a lid on suddenly returned. Then it occurred to me that maybe I just have to take this into my own hands and do the job for the police, says Ueland.

80 victims without legal aid

Coordinating assistant attorney Christian Lundin reacts to the police’s assessments.

Lundin says that in the last two weeks he has received over 25 inquiries from people who wonder whether they may be entitled to legal assistance after the shooting.

A survey the police did recently, at the request of Lundin, showed that around 80 people with the status of aggrieved are without legal aid, even if they want it.

– It is regrettable that it comes so late. It is difficult to say what the cause is, he says to NRK.

Lundin and the other assistance lawyers are also engaged by a number of people who have the status of witnesses in the case.

There are, for example, people who were inside Per på korket and London pub, but who, according to the police’s definition, were not in danger of being hit by the shots that were fired.

Lundin points out that according to the police, the attack was a terrorist attack, where the aim was to spread fear and hit as many people as possible in the area. Thus, he believes that everyone who was present was the target of the attack.

– Then I think there are good reasons to say that everyone in that area has the status of offended.

– Perceived as discrimination

Leader Espen Evjenth in the Support Group on 25 June believes that it is obvious that the limits the police have set on who has the status of offended are too strict.

In addition, he believes it appears messy that the number of victims has still not been set, two weeks into the trial. He thinks the police should have cleared this up before the trial began.

– If you were in the area, if you were outside the bars or inside one of the bars, then there was panic and fear in the room, says Evjenth to NRK.

– The anxiety people experienced was not within the police’s red zones. People thought their lives were in danger.

– The line has to go somewhere, right?

– That is clear. But it is felt that it is arbitrary who has been given this status. It is perceived as discrimination.

Børge Enoksen, police attorney in the Oslo police district, writes in an email to NRK that the police have been working to get an overview of the victims since the attack happened. There were over 500 people present outside the relevant nightspots.

– Even so, there will be people the police do not have an overview of, but when they make contact, they are dealt with in a proper way, Enoksen replies in the e-mail sent by communications advisor Siv Alsen.

The police do not comment on Ueland’s experience.

– It is a very difficult assessment, and we understand that some people feel that it is wrong, writes Enoksen.

Furthermore, Enoksen writes that the court can review the police’s assessments.

– Here we are open to the possibility that changes may occur during the trial, but also later. It is important to us that the legal certainty of the aggrieved is safeguarded in a good way.