Posts Tagged ‘Labor Party policies’
Labor coalition government law proposal may be unconstitutional and in violation of human rights
The proposed law changes which the Labor coalition government are trying to rush through the Norwegian parliament before the trial against Anders Behring Breivik takes place may be unconstitutional, Aslak Syse, institute leader and professor of public law at the University of Oslo, said to TV2.
Syse told TV2 that the law proposal to introduce a form of life imprisonment consisting of isolation might be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Syse also explained that the law proposal may conflict with the Norwegian Consitution which prohibits laws from having retroactive powers in relation to crimes that have already been committed when a law is introduced.
The Norwegian Lawyers Association has written in its hearing response that the relationship of the proposed law changes to human rights have been too briefly discussed, and that consideration to justice appears to have been put aside without sufficient reason, writes Bergensavisen.
The Norwegian Doctors Association is also critical of the law proposal. According to Bergensavisen, the association in the hearing response calls for a more thorough evaluation of the changes that are proposed in order to safeguard that they do not violate human rights and Norwegian law.
Google translation:
The bill that will provide Breivik life may be illegal
28.03.2012
The government’s new bill that will ensure that Anders Behring Breivik must sit imprisoned for life may be in conflict with the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
This view, one of the most prominent law professors in the country. After the terrorist attacks on 22 July last year, many asked the question of how can one be certain that Anders Behring Breivik not on the street again….
“It’s been too easy on everything Breivik, or condemned, the rule of law in this draft, and put too much emphasis on the police to have overcome both ends,” says head of department and professor at the Institute for Public Law at the University of Oslo Aslak Syse….
But Syse, as one of the foremost experts in the Norwegian welfare law, the opinion may violate both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Norwegian constitution.
ECHR is made a part of Norwegian law. And if other Norwegian rules are contrary to the provisions of the ECHR, the ECHR obligations take precedence over other Norwegian rules.
“It is envisaged that this could be one of life imprisonment where large parts shall be made in isolation. It is both prohibited against inhuman treatment in the European Convention on Human Rights. In addition, it also questions whether or not this is retrospective in relation to the Constitution’s ban on retroactive punishment because the crime was committed in what we now adopt new sanctions,” saying Syse to TV 2….
Original article: Lovforslaget som skal gi Breivik livstid kan være ulovlig
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Google translation:
“Lex Breivik” meets resistance
3/29/2012
The Government’s proposals for a mental health care encounters resistance from a variety of sources.
“Small through work,” “rush through” and “strong concerns”, says worrisome feedback.
The law has colloquially been referred to as “Lex Breivik.” Health and Care Services has not hidden the fact that it is important to establish a stricter set of rules that can be used if the terrorist suspect Anders Behring Breivik is sentenced to forced transfer to mental health care….
From academic communities in both law and psychiatry are cautioned strongly against introducing a law that seems to be specially made to provide increased security around one person….
Bar Association says the bill appears to be low throughout the work.
“Relationship to human rights has not been much discussed. On the whole, seems of law to be set aside without sufficient justification,” writes Berit Reiss-Andersen and Merethe Smith Bar Association in its response.
Bar Association believes such a law requiring better preparation and more detailed environmental impact assessment. This is supported by the Norwegian Medical Association. They have requested a more thorough, principled discussion, followed by a national, comprehensive plan.
“The described measures must be regarded as very radical, and it must be ensured that they do not violate human rights and our own legislation,” writes General Geir Riise.
Only three weeks’ notice
Many of the bodies consulted have an understanding of the need for new rules for the special situation that has arisen following the terrorist attacks. Yet ask many questions in that work is progressing so quickly.
The proposed amendment was only out for consultation for three weeks. Normally, the period shall be three months and not less than six weeks. The Ministry has an opportunity to depart from the rules under special circumstances….
Original article: “Lex Breivik” møter motstand
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Related post: Lippestad: Law changes for Breivik would be a democratic problem and a threat to justice
Lippestad: Law changes for Breivik would be a democratic problem and a threat to justice
TV2 has gained access to a confidential hearing note that reveals that the Labor coalition government is trying to rush through law changes to the psychiatric healthcare law (psykisk helsevernloven) that seem tailor suited for Anders Behring Breivik and that would make it legal for Norwegian authorities to construct a prison-like psychiatric hospital for a single person. According to the document, the government has issued a much shorter deadline for the hearing on the law proposal than normal.
According to TV2, in addition to what has been previously reported, the proposed law changes would make it possible for the authorities to hold a patient in a high-security mental hospital for as long as the police considered there to be “particularly high risk for attacks against the patient.” No specific threat would need to be present; it would be sufficient that the police be of the opinion that the patient was at risk. The new regulations would, therefore, in reality give Norwegian authorities the power to place an individual, for example a political prisoner, in solitary confinement for life without this being specifically sanctioned by a court.
“What one in reality is doing here is to introduce life-imprisonment in Norway,” Anders Behring Breivik’s lawyer Geir Lippestad told TV2. Lippestad says that, in his opinion, the proposed law changes appear to have been tailor suited for a single person (Breivik), and that the proposed law changes should be thoroughly discussed.
“I question how this [the law proposal] has been evaluated, and that one is using hearing deadlines that are much shorter than is normal,” Lippestad explains. “If these rules are proposed on the background of this case, and with a wish to punish this person [Breivik] in particular, then it is both a democratic problem and a threat to justice,” Lippestad said.
The Labor coalition government appears increasingly desperate to silence Breivik, who has explained that he represents the Norwegian resistance movement. Before the current law proposal was made, Dagbladet reported that the Justice Department was considering law changes that would make it illegal for Breivik to publish his book. The Justice Department also denied a BBC journalist access to Ila Prison to interview Breivik. In addition, the Attorney General has expressed a desire to introduce greater press restrictions.
Google translation:
How to keep Breivik locked up for life
21.03.2012
The government hastily introduces a new law that will keep Anders Behring Breivik locked up for life. It is in the interests of his own safety.
When TV 2 met the Minister of Justice Grete Faremo some time ago, she was clear about what the government had to do as she asked herself the question:
“How can we be certain that we do not meet the offender again?”
The answer to that is now available as a consultation document from the Health – and care ministry, which TV 2 has access to.
This paper is a proposal for ending the law on mental health care, and describes a high-security treatment institution with communication control, wiretapping, strip searches, detector scanning of all that goes in and out, glass wall between Breivik and visitors….
[Psychiatrist Thor Kvakkestad] believes the government by introducing the law in this way violates the duty to report, and defendant case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
“This is so make serious changes to current legislation, to be able to detention sick people on the basis that the police have a feeling that the person is exposed to a threat from the public,” he said to TV 2
“These are changes that require an open debate in society, the consequences of it and whether it is something we should implement in Norway must be studied thoroughly,” he adds….
Original article: Slik skal Breivik holdes innesperret resten av livet
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Google translation:
Thinks the government sneak introduce life imprisonment
22.03.2012
Anders Behring Breivik defender Geir Lippestad believe the government is trying to impose life imprisonment in Norway.
TV 2 could reveal Wednesday that the government hastily introduced a new law that will keep Anders Breivik Behring locked up for life.
Now responds Breivik defender, Geir Lippestad.
“What we do here in practice, is to impose a sentence of life imprisonment in Norway,” says Breivik defender, Geir Lippestad, to TV 2….
He said the situation must be discussed thoroughly before rules are adopted.
“I really question how this is assessed, and that you are also using the consultation deadlines are much shorter than normal,” says Lippestad….
Original article: Mener regjeringen snikinnfører livstidsstraff
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Related post: Justice Department considers law change that will make Breivik book illegal
Related post: Norwegian Justice Department blocks Breivik interview with BBC
Related post: Norway’s Attorney General expresses desire to introduce greater press restrictions
Infiltration of the Norwegian Defence League
(For a timeline of the events reported in this post, see bottom of post.)
On Sunday, the Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet, reported claims that the Norwegian Defence League (NDL) was infiltrated for an extended period of time by members of the leftist organization, SOS Racism (SOS Rasisme).
The NDL became widely known to the Norwegian public after Janne Kristiansen, former head of the Police Security Service (PST), warned about the establishment of the group at the annual PST press conference on February 28, 2011. The day before the press conference, police sources had told VG that operative units of the police had, for a couple of weeks, been focusing on a new threat, and that it could be just a matter of time before the situation exploded.
The current leader of the NDL, Ronny Alte, has told Nettavisen that Breivik had some online contact with the NDL in February 2011, before the PST press conference, using the moniker “Sigurd Jorsalfar,” the name of the twelfth-century crusader, King Sigurd I of Norway. The left-wing magazine, Searchlight, has reported that around the same time Breivik also posted on a forum operated by the English Defence League (EDL) using the same moniker. According to Searchlight, on March 9, 2011, Breivik wrote the following:
“Do some of you know the truth about what happened to the ndl [Norwegian Defence League], there was some claims that neo-nazis had hijacked the organisation, but on the ndl site i cant really say i noticed anything like that. So my guess is that there were some kind of police pressure to stop the movement. Anyone here heard anything?”
A new version of NDL
On February 26, 2011, two days before the abovementioned PST press conference, a new NDL website was set up and the organization changed name to the Norwegian Defence Alliance (Norsk Forsvars Allianse). The Norwegian Defence League had announced plans for a demonstration in front of the Oslo Cathedral (Domkirke) on February 26, 2011, but these plans appear to have been interrupted and the demonstration never took place. Klassekampen reported on February 19, 2011, that the leftist Anti-Racist Center (Antirasistisk Senter) and several other organizations had planned a counter demonstration. In the same Klassekampen article, Remi Huseby, the then leader of the NDL, stated that after being interviewed by the Norwegian press for the first time (TV2 filming in Luton, published February 5, 2011), he had received several death threats and had, therefore, purchased a bulletproof vest.
On March 1, 2011, the day after the PST press conference, Remi Huseby announced his withdrawal as leader of the NDL. Håvar Krane took over the leadership. On March 13, 2011, VG wrote that the original (WordPress) website of the NDL was closed down after the PST press conference on February 28th, however the first post on the new (Blogspot) website is cleary dated February 26th.
The EDL appears to have accepted Håvar Krane as an interim leader:
“For the time being and up untill the planned election of new leadership on the 9th of April, Haavar Krane will function as the officially recognised spokesman and leader of the Norwegian Defence League endorsed by the EDL.
We wish Haavar Krane all the best in the work ahead, in building up a genuine Nowegian Defence League.
The following has been agreed with Haavar
1) He will do this until a new leader is elected.
2) That NDL get approval from EDL to continue on this, EDL has now approved this
3) He chooses for the time being his/NDLs own security and liason division
4) When all the new leaders are elected he is out and into the background…”
Three weeks later on March 19, 2011, Lena Andreassen replaced him as leader of NDL.
On April 9, 2011, one month after the February 28th PST press conference, and while reportedly heavily infiltrated by members of SOS Racism, the new version of the Norwegian Defence League held a demonstration in Oslo that was a complete failure. According to the recent Dagbladet article, infiltrators from SOS Racism were directly involved with the planning of this unsuccesssful (NDL) demonstration to which only a handful of NDL supporters turned up.
The Norwegian press has a strong left-wing bias and so does not typically give much press coverage to right-wing organizations and events. For example, not a single Norwegian newspaper has written about the upcoming gathering of European Defence Leagues in Aarhus, Denmark, on March 31, 2012. The staged NDL demonstration on April 9th, however, received massive coverage by all Norwegian television stations and newspapers. It is possible that some in the media may have known beforehand that the demonstration was going to be a failure, and may have been collaborating with those working to sabotage the NDL.
The entire press also gave extensive coverage to the large counter demonstration attended by various leftist groups including the Anti-Racist Center, the Oslo Labor Youth Organization (AUF), Blitz, Oslo Socialist Youth (Oslo SU), The Red Pary (Rødt), Red Youth (Rød ungdom), UFFA (anarchist group), Motmakt (anti-capitalistic organization), Young Communists (UngKom) and SOS Racism. It is unclear who orchestrated the counter demonstration, but a Facebook group and blog appear to have been created for the purpose.
On April 9th, Dagbladet wrote that Lena Andreassen attended the demonstraton virtually alone and said: “Darn, there are more journalists here than us.” Dagbladet estimated that between 700 and 1000 people attended the counter demonstration, and printed a photo showing a large crowd of leftists. In this week’s article however, Dagbladet only mentions that 30 SOS Racism members held a counter demonstration against the NDL, painting a very different picture of what happened that day.
After the failed demonstration on April 9th, the English Defence League withdrew support from the NDL, and the leaders of the organization, including Lena Andreassen and Håvar Krane, had to quit.
Darren Lee from the EDL had come to Oslo to see what was going on and had a meeting with several Norwegians after the demonstration. “We were informed that a change of leadership was desired and our leader said that we will support them [the new leadership] with everything necessary going foreward,” Lee told Dagbladet. “We seem to have supported the wrong leadership previously,” Lee also said to the newspaper.
In a message on Facebook, Tommy Robinson, head of the English Defence League, wrote the following:
“This is a message from Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League. After careful consideration and a lengthy investigation by our support group we have decided that we have no alternative but to declare a show of no-confidence in the current leadership and administration of the Norwegian Defence League.
We will no longer affiliate with, or support this version of the NDL….”
Left-wing and possible police infiltration
In this week’s article, Dagbladet, relying only on anonymous sources, claims that members of SOS Racism had infiltrated the Norwegian Defence League and secured leadership positions in the organization. The newspaper does not discuss whether these people acted as informants for the PST.
According to Dagbladet, the infiltrators used false identities and profiles on social media to get into leadership circles of the small organization. “It is tough for the psyche to work like this. One is sitting up to the neck in racism and sewer. I have really developed sympathy for police staff who work over time to reveal for example child porn,” one of the anonymous sources who followed the work being done to steer the NDL said to Dagbladet. A former board member of the NDL to which Dagbladet has spoken said that SOS Racism infiltrators made up the majority of NDL leadership at the time of the failed April 9th demonstration.
Remi Huseby, the first leader of the NDL inteviewed by the Norwegian press, is from a small coastal city called Haugesund. Haugesund is where SOS Racism has its main office and the PST also has an office in the city. In the first ever news coverage of the NDL which was published by TV2 on February 5, 2011, three weeks before the PST press conference, TV2 reporters travelled to Luton in England to film Norwegian NDL members partaking in an English Defence League demonstration. According to TV2, several other Norwegians that had planned to travel to Luton for the event cancelled their plans.
Håvar Krane, who became leader of the NDL shortly after the February 28th PST press conference, is known to have made provocative statements a week earlier, at the meeting of another right-wing organisation, SIAN (Stopp Islamisering Av Norge – Stop the Islamization of Norway), on February 21, 2011. In a voice recording published by TV2, Krane can be heard saying that he would have liked to shoot one of the members of the government in the back of the head with a Glock pistol, and he presents a scenario for attacking the Labor coalition government: “I envision the Chistmas party of the government, perfect moment to block all exits with Molotov cocktails, except the door I shall enter.”
According to this week’s article in Dagbladet, Lena Andreassen, who began “weeding out” unwanted persons from the NDL after the PST press conference, and who took over as leader after Krane, had no idea about the infiltration of the NDL by SOS Racism members. However, on March 13, 2011, two weeks after the PST press conference, Lena Andreassen told VG that, for several weeks, she had worked around the clock to get rid of undesirable people from the NDL. Andreassen also said that she had collaborated with the Oslo Police about this and that she had close contact with the PST. In the interview, she also explained that she had previously had a partner who was helped by the PST to get out of a right-wing group called Boot Boys.
After the 7/22 attacks, in the end of September 2011, Lena Andreassen was reportedly kidnapped for a month by former members of the English Defence League (EDL). She has said that she is afraid of what will happen if what she has told the police becomes publically known. The Norwegian press reportedly has copies of her statements to the police, but this information has not been published.
AUF fraud scheme and Serve the People (Tjen Folket)
In 2011, leaders of SOS Racism were found guilty of massive fraud and the organization had most of its funds confiscated. It has been revealed that, throughout the last decade, the organization had been using the identical fraud scheme that was utilized by the Oslo branch of the Labor Youth Organisation (AUF) during the 1990s to steal taxpayers’ money. In both cases, false memberships were created and paid for in order to increase subsidies. The national leader of the AUF at the time was Trond Giske (Labor), now Minister of Business.
It has also been revealed that SOS Racism, during the period in which the fraud took place, was steered by a shadow leadership group from a secretive communist organization called Serve the People (Tjen Folket) that had infiltrated and hijacked the anti-racist organization. According to the National Register of Legal Entities (Enhetsregisteret), Serve the People was established on May 1, 1998, a few days after Oslo AUF leaders were found guilty by the Oslo District Court (Tingrett) of serious fraud on April 21, 1998.
The SOS fraud resulted in official membership numbers skyrocketing from around 5000 in 1999 to more than 40,000 in 2006, releasing millions of Norwegian crowns (kroner) in subsidies for anti-racism and pro-immigration activism which would have provided support for the immigration policies of the Labor Party.
It is possible that the infiltrators of NDL, in addition to being members of SOS Racism, were members of Serve the People (Tjen Folket). Some individuals facing prosecution and prison sentences for their involvement in the SOS fraud case may have been motivated to work as police informants.
Breivik kept a low profile
The PST developed a sudden interest in the NDL in February 2011. It appears that the first version of the Norwegian Defence League (NDL) was closed down a few days before the February 28th PST press conference and, if what Dagbladet writes this week is correct, was replaced by one led by left-wing infiltrators positive to the immigration policies of the Labor Party.
In Europe, state infiltration of right-wing organizations is not uncommon. Der Spiegel has reported that in Germany, the domestic intelligence agency (Office for the Protection of the Constitution) has more than 130 informants inside the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), many in leadership positions.
The PST may have had credible intelligence information that made it an urgent matter to infiltrate the political right in Norway in the spring of 2011. Statements by police sources to VG on February 27, 2011, indicate this could have been the case. It is conceivable that what led to the sudden concern was the reported phone threat to the Justice Department, and that this call took place in January or February and not in March as has been supposed.
If the Norwegian Defence League was created by or hijacked by the political left, it would seem that this either happened in collaboration with the Police Security Service (PST) or, alternatively, was outside the control of the PST and, therefore, might have interfered with police investigations.
Perhaps the NDL was initially established as a police effort to infiltrate Norwegian EDL sympathisers, but that the PST lost control over the situation when someone else, maybe politicians or journalists, not fully realizing the seriousness of the operation, got word about it and thought the situation provided a good opportunity for staging a media campaign against people opposing the Labor Party’s immigration policies.
As mentioned above, the Norwegian press has a strong left-wing bias and more than 70% of journalists vote for either the Labor Party or the Socialist Left Party. The chief editor of the once conservative newspaper, Aftenposten, Hilde Haugsgjerd, was once the leader of the Red Electoral Alliance, a far-left political party promoting revolutionary ideas and Marxism. It is, therefore, quite conceivable that some in the Norwegian media may have been involved in some sort of political propaganda campaign intended to delegitimize right-wingers.
The fact that the leader of the PST at the time, Janne Kristiansen, was hand-picked for the job by a Labor Party minister, and her appointment was widely regarded as political, could lead one to speculate as to whether the Labor Party was the architect behind the the fake version of NDL and the accompanying massive media coverage. Currently, however, there is no evidence to support such speculation.
During police questioning, Breivik has explained that if he had been a member of the Norwegian Defence League, the PST would have detected him before he could carry out the attacks. In the compendium that he published, 2083 – A European Declaration of Independence, Breivik discussed the importance of keeping a low profile to avoid being “flagged” by the secret police.
PST evaluation report
In a detailed evaluation report published on Friday, the PST concludes that it was not possible for the police to detect Breivik:
“Based on what we have seen through the evaluation work, Anders Behring Breivik’s activities on the internet appear in such a way that it does not stand out in relation to the activities of other participants on these pages. There is a large number of participants that voice more provoking or more extreme viewpoints than what Breivik did. This evaluation is supported by those statements that have been referred to from different research environments about this. In addition, Anders Behring Breivik had in the planning phase been thoroughly very security conscious and been careful not to write anything that would attract negative attention….”
Presenting the report at a press conference, Roger Berg, interim head of PST, said that Breivik had planned the attacks for years and been utmost security conscious. “If the PST should have detected Breivik and thereby have prevented the terror operation, we would have needed a specific tip. We did not get that…”, Berg said according to VG.
Berg also said that the 7/22 attacks require the PST to think anew, but that the PST does not believe increased surveillance is the way to go forward, stressing instead the importance of society as a whole in preventing escalation of violence.
The PST’s views are good news for Norway and civil liberties. While it is important to prevent violence, in a free democratic society citizens must have the right to be active in politics without state interference.
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Timeline of events – Spring 2011
Feb 05 – NDL leader Remi Huseby interviewed by TV2 in Luton at EDL demonstration
Feb 19 – Klassekampen reports about planned NDL demonstration and counter-demonstration
Feb 21 – Håvar Krane makes provocative statements at SIAN meeting
Feb 26 – Cancelled NDL demonstration in front of Oslo Cathedral
Feb 26 – New NDL website established, NDL renamed “Norsk Forsvars Allianse”
Feb 27 – Police sources tell VG that the police are concerned about a new threat
Feb 28 – PST annual press conference – focus on NDL
Mar 01 – Remi Huseby steps down as leader of NDL
Mar 01 – Håvar Krane becomes interim leader of NDL
Mar 09 – Breivik asks on EDL forum if anybody knows if the police were trying to stop the NDL movement
Mar 13 – Lena Andreassen tells VG that she collaborates with Oslo Police and has close contact with PST
Mar 19 – Lena Andreassen becomes new NDL leader
Apr 09 – Failed NDL demonstration at Akershus Fortress, large counter-demonstration
Apr 13 – EDL withdraws support from NDL
Apr 13 – Lena Andreassen, Håvar Krane and other leaders leave NDL
Jul 22 – Anders Behring Breivik carries out attacks
Sep 29 – Lena Andreassen kidnapped for a month by former EDL members
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Google translation [edited for clarity]:
“Anti-rasists in right-wing organization”
03/11/12
“Several people with ties to SOS Racism built up the right-wing Norwegian Defence League, says former board member….
Last 9 April, on the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Norway, demonstrated the Islam hostile and extreme-right group, Norwegian Defence league (NDL), against the “Islamic occupation” in Oslo. NDL had then about a thousand people with strong anti-Islamic attitudes and a number of well-known right-wingers as members.
Activists from the violent and extremist sister organization, the English Defence League (EDL) in the UK, to Norway to participate.
Led by anti-racists
Dagbladet can now reveal that the demonstration was organized by several anti-racists. According to several independent sources, the NDL’s management as well as other positions in the organization was infiltrated by people with close ties to SOS Racism.
“When we decided to organize the demonstration, had people who worked with SOS Racism a clear majority in the management of the NDL,” says a former member of the NDL-management to Dagbladet.
The person says that he worked to infiltrate the leadership of NDL for several years under a false name. In practice, built and operated the NDL, as they reported to SOS Racism, according to several sources.
“SOS Racism had full control of the NDL. In 2010 and until the Spring of 2011 we were working in collaboration with SOS Racism, a clear majority of the board and management of the NDL,” said the person.
In the interests of the involved persons’ safety, Dagbladet chose not to disclose their names.
Confirmed
The information confirmed by several independent sources, including people who followed the cooperation within the SOS Racism.
“It included the SOS Racism which suggested that the NDL’s demonstration of April 9th would be at Kontraskjæret at Akershus Fortress. There it was easy to make a counter-demonstrations against them.”
Only a handful of NDL sympathizers showed up. The demonstration was branded as a failure and management of the organization were replaced.
SOS Racism fielded several dozen counter-demonstrators and received much attention.
Several of those present knew of efforts to control the NDL by infiltrators, according to the Dagbladet know. Dagbladet has asked SOS Racism for an opinion on this matter. The organization confirmed that they read Dagbladet’s request, but gave no answer.
A key representative of SOS Racism, who has been pointed out by several sources as a director of NDL in 2010 and 2011, denied knowledge of the infiltration.
“What you ask about has no basis in reality,” he answers questions from Dagbladet.
False identities
Infiltrators used the fake profiles and identities on websites to get into the NDL-management. How wondered the initiators of the NDL to give them key positions, according to sources. NDL-management often met through video conferencing on the Internet, but rarely face to face.
“It’s tough for the psyche to work like that. Sitting up to their necks in racism and sewers. I’ve really got sympathy for police officers working over time to reveal, for example, child pornography,” says a source who followed the work to manage the NDL closely.
NDLs leader at this time was Lena Andreassen. She must have been unaware that she was surrounded by infiltrators. Andreassen do not want to comment on the matter.
“Would have enemy”
During the period when the NDL should have had a board majority consisting of anti-racists, the group went from being an unknown Facebook group to become nationally known.
The then leader PST Janne Kristiansen NDL mentioned as a possible threat, at a press conference in February 2011. Both PST and Oslo Police have spent considerable resources on the NDL.
“SOS Racism would have an enemy and an adversary in the debate on immigration,” says a source involved in the work.
New management
Today, the NDL under new management.
“We have become aware that last year was more infiltrators in the NDL,” said spokesman Ron Alte to Dagbladet….
Original article: “Antirasister bygde høyreekstrem organisasjon”
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Related article: - Bare et spørsmål om tid før det eksploderer (http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/terrorisme/artikkel.php?artid=10030043)
Related article: Breivik was a member of the Norwegian Defense Alliance [Norwegian Defence League] (Breivik var medlem i Norsk forsvarsallianse)
Related article: Anders Behring Breivik was in contact with the EDL
Related article: Mayoral candidate in secret recordings: Would executing government minister (Ordførerkandidat i hemmelig lydopptak: Ville henrette regjeringsmedlem)
Related Wikipedia article: SOS Racism (SOS Rasisme)
Related Wikipedia article: AUF fraud case (AUF-saken)
Related Wikipedia article: Serve the People [Norwegian political group] (Tjen folket [norsk politisk gruppe])
Related: Information from the National Register of Legal Entities for Serve the People (Tjen folket) (Nøkkelopplysninger fra Enhetsregisteret)
Related article: She will fight extreme Muslims (Hun vil bekjempe ekstrem-muslimer)
Related article: “Darn, it’s more journalists here than us” (“Søren, det er jo flere pressefolk her enn oss”
Related article: Anti-Islamic groups across Europe to attend far-Right rally
Related article: German Intelligence Has 130 Informants in Extremist Party
Related article: English anti-Islamists break with Norwegian sister organization (Engelske antiislamister bryter med norsk søsterorganisasjon
Related article: NDL leadership thrown out after fiasco demonstration (NDL-ledelsen kastet etter fiasko-demonstrasjonen
Related article: Norwegian Remi in England on anti-muslim demonstration (Norske Remi i England på anti-muslimsk markering
Related article: Fear of new racist murder (Frykter nytt rasistdrap)
Related article: NDL leadership dumped for failure demo (NDL-ledelsen kastet etter fiasko-demonstrasjonen)
Related article: PST Evaluation Report
Related article: PST: – Could not have detected Breivik (PST: – Kunne ikke fanget opp Breivik)
Related website: English Defence League
Related website: Norwegian Defence League
Norwegian government considers strict regulations of chemicals to prevent further bomb attacks
The Justice Department believes Norway needs particularly strict regulations on the purchase of chemicals and substances that can be used to make bombs and explosives, reports Fædrelandsvennen.
According to the paper new, stricter regulations went into effect on November 17th of last year preventing the sale of fertilizer with a high concentration of ammonium nitrate to private individuals. The Justice Department, however, believes it may be necessary to introduce even stricter regulations in Norway than in the EU, writes Fædrelandsvennen.
Fædrelandsvennen also reports that the department has established two workgroups which will evaluate stricter regulations on access to chemicals such as those used by Anders Behring Breivik in the bomb that destroyed the Justice Department and other governmental offices in downtown Oslo. One workgroup will evaluate current regulations of access to ammonium nitrate and will hand in its recommendation on June 15th. The other workgroup will be evaluating a new proposal from the EU regarding the regulation of fourteen chemicals that can be used for making bombs. Breivik obtained several of these chemicals. The group will submit its recommendation by October 1st.
The Justice Department was directly hit by the Oslo explosion; the offices were destroyed and four members of staff died on 7/22. Former Justice Minister, Knut Storberget, stepped down in November last year after receiving death threats from a group called “The Organization for a Free Norway” (Organisasjonen Fritt Norge). As a result of the 7/22 attacks, the Justice Department was formally renamed the Justice and Preparedness Department to reflect the new political situation in Norway.
Google translation:
Norway may have stricter rules for the bomb chemicals
09.mar.2012
Two teams will arrive at a uniquely Norwegian and extra strict regulations for the purchase of chemicals and substances that can be used to make explosives and bombs.
The Justice and Preparedness Ministry has asked the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning to set up two working groups, newspaper Bergens Tidende.
One group will consider regulations for fertilizer ingredient ammonium nitrate, and the work will be completed 15 June. The mandate states that the ammonium nitrate should not be “in the wrong hands and be used in harmful activities….”
The other group will consider the EU’s proposed restrictions on access to 14 chemicals that can be used for the manufacture of homemade bombs. Several of the chemicals Anders Behring Breivik acquired, are among these, including those he imported from Poland. This group will submit its report by 1 October.
Original article: Norge kan få strengere regler for bombekjemikalier
Norwegian government proposes law changes to allow one-man psychiatric hospitals, strict control of political prisoners in psychiatric institutions
Verdens Gang (VG) reports that Health Minister, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen (Labor), has submitted a new law proposal for hearing rounds. In the new law proposal, the Labor coalition government proposes major changes to the rights and treatment of citizens committed by the court system to psychiatric care.
The proposed changes to the psychiatric healthcare law (psykisk helsevernloven), which appears tailor-suited for political prisoners, would allow for the creation of special high-security psychiatric institutions. “We open for the establishment of health facilities with particularly high-security, but where the main focus shall be treatment,” Strøm-Erichsen told VG.
According to the new law proposal, it would be legal to construct a psychiatric hospital for a single person. It would also be possible to place such a one-man psychiatric hospital inside an existing prison. In addition, the new law would make it legal for high-security psychiatric hospitals to search patients’ belongings, read their mail, and control phonecalls and visits, writes VG.
According to VG, the government has proposed a rapid time schedule for the hearing so that the new law can be approved by parliament before the verdict against Anders Behring Breivik is ready. Strøm-Erichsen, however, claims that the new law is not created specifically for Breivik. “This is not a special law for this [court] case, but shall be a general possibility for people that need extra hight security around them,” Strøm-Erichsen said to VG.
Google translation:
The Government will build Breivik hospital
03/01/12
The Government will establish a high-security hospital, which can accommodate Anders Behring Breivik – if he is sentenced to compulsory psychiatric care.
An entirely fresh bill allows for such a short hospitalization can be built inside the walls of Ila Prison….
The government would not build a hospital just Breivik, but also for other particularly dangerous psychotic persons sentenced to compulsory psychiatric care….
High security hospital will have far greater powers than psychiatry has had to date, among other things, to examine the patients, checking personal belongings, and to check mail, visitors and telephones.
Original article: Regjeringen vil bygge Breivik-sykehus
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Hearing document – in Norwegian [opens pdf].
Related post: Government evaluating legality of construction of one-man psychiatric hospital inside prison for Breivik
Related post: Norway’s Attorney General expresses desire to introduce greater press restrictions
Related post: Justice Department considers law change that will make Breivik book illegal
[post title edited 03/23/12]
[second paragraph edited 03/26/12]
Norway’s Attorney General expresses desire to introduce greater press restrictions
Attorney General (Riksadvokat), Tor-Aksel Busch, known for his expressed wish to get rid of the jury system, is of the opinion that lawmakers should consider making it illegal to publish leaked information that someone else has obtained by illegal means, reports Dagbladet. According to Dagbladet, Busch writes this in a letter to The Media Responsibility Commission (Medieansvarsutvalget) which was appointed by the Labor coalition government to come up with proposals for more extensive legal regulations of the media and bloggers.
Dagbladet also reports that Busch is also in agreement with the The Media Responsibility Commission’s view that there should be no legal restrictions on the police investigation of a leak.
Per Edgar Kokkvold, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Press Association, is very critial of the ideas aired by Busch. “It is very unfortunate. Today’s system works well. The consequences will be that people hesitate to go to the press with their information. Protection of sources is, and should be, close to absolute,” Kokkvold said to Dagbladet.
The editor of Nettavisen, Gunnar Stavrum, writes in an opinion piece that the Attorney General is mistaken when he wants to punish the media for publishing leaks and that this would be tantamount to state censorship:
“But today Attorney General Tor-Aksel Busch takes a dangerous step further: we believe one should look closer on whether it should be illegal for the media to redistribute information it has received by others having committed an illegal act of [someone's] duty of confidence, it comes from the State Attorney’s office.
“The proposal from the Attorney General is dangerous, totalitarian and ought to be placed in the drawer immediately.
“The press has a legally-based role of being guard dog. It has laws that protect this role, among others a legally-based protection of sources and a constitutionally founded freedom of expression.
“Even if leaks can be unfortunate, we have long traditions for how it goes when regimes with law in hand can tame the media and decide what should be written in the newpapers.”
Google translation:
Will open to punish the media for leaks
02/15/2012
Public Prosecutor Tor Aksel Busch for all 22 July leaks
Now he opens that the media can be prosecuted for passing on information gained through the other has committed a criminal breach of confidentiality.
In response to Media Legal Committee’s report Busch writes that “it is not necessarily obvious” that the media’s dissemination of information they have gained access to the breach of confidentiality, should be penalty-free….
Original article: Vil åpne for å straffe mediene for lekkasjer
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Google translation:
Source Hunting and press criminal
February 15, 2012
Attorney General Tor-Aksel Busch will punish the media who publish leaks. Is it not easier to impose state censorship first as last…?
Original article: Kildejakt og pressestraff
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Related: Tor-Aksel Busch on Wikipedia (in Norwegian)
Related: Per Edgar Kokkvold on Wikipedia
Political commentator says it appears the political goal of the Labor Party is to make ethnic Norwegians a minority
In an opinion piece on the Verdidebatt website, which is run by the newspaper Vårt Land, right-wing author, blogger and political commentator, Ole Jørgen Anfindsen, argues that Øyvind Strømmen, a left-wing journalist and author frequently used by the Norwegian media as an expert on right-wing politics, exaggerates the relevance of right-wing extremist political ideas and the Eurabia theory to the current political debate in Norway about mass immigration.
According to Anfindsen, Strømmen writes in his most recent book that right wing politicians are borrowing ideas from the extreme right: “[T]he borrowing from the extreme right has not ceased.” Anfindsen says that Strømmen uses quotes from the blog of Progress Party politician, Kent Andersen, to illustrate this point.
Anfindsen points out, however, that, as Andersen has written about on his blog, the Labor Party as early as 1980 stated in parliamentary documents that it is a political goal to transform Norwegian society into a pluralistic, multicultural society. Those that complain that these major policy decisions were not clearly communicated to the Norwegian people, or not debated in a democratic fashion, are simply opposing Labor Party policy, Anfindsen argues.
Anfindsen also writes that the Labor Party appears to applaud the fact that ethnic Norwegicans are soon to become a minority in the capital, Oslo, and that it is reasonable to conclude that the political goal of the Labor Party is exacly that: to make ethnic Norwegians a minority.
Below are excerpts from the article translated from Norwegian:
“In the same blog post from which Strømmen chose to quote an excerpt on pages 162-163 of his book, Andersen also writes the following:
The thought about the ‘multicultural Norway’ is rather not new. It shows up in Parliamentary report number 74 (1979-1980) ‘About immigrants in Norway’ (under Oddvar Nordlie’s [Labor] government). Here we can read quote: ‘To develop one’s own language and own culture as central tools in an intergration process that shall result in the goal of a multicultural/pluralistic society.’
…
“It is, therefore, just to go to the sources Strømmen gives in his book, as well as follow a weblink or two, and one finds in a few minutes documentation that the situation is more or less how Andersen claims, namely that the Labor Party has desired to break up the unique Norwegian culture and replace it with multiculture. This is, therefore, not the ‘Eurabia thinking,’ as Strømmen claims (page 163), but quite simply the Labor Party thinking.
“The Labor party has, apparently, believed that Norway was too poorly inhabited, and has desired to fix this serious shortcoming by the aid of significant immigration from the Third World. This immigration is subject to a certain regulation from year to year, but in the long run it does not look like there is meant to be any limits to how many should come here.
“And since it is obvious to anyone with a minimum of mathematical schooling that ethnic Norwegians, in a not too distant future, necessarily will become a minority in this country if today’s policy is continued, then it is reasonable to assume that this is exacly the Labor Party’s long-term political goal. And there are not that many years left until Norwegians become a minority in Oslo; a development the Labor Party appears to be applauding.
…
“So what does this have to do with Strømmen’s book? Not so little. To Strømmen, it is important to portray as right-wing extreme anyone who believes that the Labor Party (and its supporters) lacks respect for Norwegians and Norwegian culture and, therefore, wishes to replace them and it with something else.
“But then it turns out, when one digs a bit in the sources that Strømmen himself refers to, that the Labor Party itself, even in a parliamentary report, makes it clear that it is considered as unfortunate that Norway is dominated by Norwegian culture and that, therefore, they wish to supplement this with a line of other cultures from the whole world. And, in practical politics, the Labor Party each and every day shows that they believe that there should be an end to Norwegians being a majority in this country.
“Now many will, of course, agree with the Labor Party that it is exactly a policy such as this that will make Norway a better country to live in, which is what their youth politicians claimed on NRK news Feb 6, 2012 (in a comment to statements from Breivik’s court hearing the same day, where he repeated his claim that Labor Party politicians are traitors, a statement that the aforementioned Labor Youth [AUF] politicians perceived as incomprehensible).
“But if Norway is a democratic society, one must be allowed to be in disagreement with the Labor Party. In addition, it must be allowed to put forth strong critique of the Labor Party, and it must be allowed to ask critical questions. Yes, it must actually be allowed to be of the opinion that the Labor Party ideologists either are incompetent (and, therefore, do not understand what the long-term consequences of the party’s politics will be) or, alternatively, that they have goals that they rarely admit fully in public.
“For example, it must, as Kent Andersen and Christian Tybring-Gjedde did in a subsequently quite well-known opinion piece in Aftenposten, Aug 25, 2010, be allowed to ask ‘What was wrong with Norwegian culture, since the Labor Party wants to replace it with multiculture?’
…
“There are just about four million Norwegians in the country, but there are several hundred millions of people in the countries from which our largest immigrant groups have their roots. In some time we are, therefore, — with today’s rules of the game — sentenced to lose the demographic competition; something that, in other words, happens with the Labor Party as an active promoter. The attitude behind this is readily summarized in Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s well-known words: ‘The most important white spot now consists of deconstructing the majority, and do it thoroughly so that it can never be called a majority again (Culcom, June 18, 2008).’
…
“Strømmen’s book is, thus, referring to sources that document the Labor Party’s responsibility for the (in many people’s opinion, irresponsible) immigration policy that has been conducted in Norway the last decades, and that is even larger than what many of us have been aware of. Since this has relevance for the upcoming trial against Breivik, and since the terror on 7/22 is the backdrop for Strømmen’s book, I’ll include a few words about the defense of Brevik.
“With a possible exception of some Labor Party polticians that NRK has spoken to, it seems to be the broad agreement that Breivik has the right to a trial that is as fair as possible, including a best possible defense. Not at least has his lawyer, Geir Lippestad, repeatedlly underlined the importance of this.
“This means, the way I view it, that Lippestad will fail his task as Brevik’s defense unless he makes sure that the court receives full information about the circumstances Strømmen (implicitly) documents, and that I have outlined above.
“Why so? Yes, because Breivik’s major point is that the Labor Party’s policies in reality constitute treason, and that the party members, therefore, are legitimate targets for actions of the type that he carried out last summer. Let me here, to avoid misunderstandings, rush forward and repeat what I said in several interviews in the weeks after 7/22, namely that I believe it is necessary to tone down the rhetoric in light of the terror tragedy, hereof to cease calling immigration supporters ‘traitors.’
“What is clear, on the other hand, is that the Labor Party has the main responsibility for a policy that many are of the opinion has placed our country in a very problematic situation. As I have emphasized before, this does not give Breivik the right to blow up bombs or excecute AUF [Labor Youth Organization] members. But as his lawyer, it is Lippestad’s duty to put forth all arguments that can indicate lenient circumstances (to the degree this is possible) for Breivik. And he is, unfortunately, right in that there are several aspects of Norwegian democracy that are not functioning as it should.”
…
Øyvind Strømmen refutes Anfindsen’s critique in the comment field on Verdidebatt, titling his comment “Four points about mendaciousness”:
“In the case of the Progress Party [FRP], I have, to the contrary, both in the book and, for example, in this interview with Nettavisen, criticized the perception of the Progress Party as right-wing extreme, as one ought to: such a perception is idiotic. What I have done, on the other hand, is to criticize specific Progress Party politicians for a simplification of right-wing extremist thought matter, something I have used a chapter in the book to exemplify.”
Original article: Arbeiderpartiet, Lippestad, Breivik og Strømmens mørke nett
Google translation: The Labor Party, Lippestad, Breivik and Strømmen’s Dark Web
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Ole Jørgen Anfindsen’s blog: HonestThinking.org
Øyvind Strømmen’s book: The Dark Net. On Right-Wing Extremism, Counter-Jihadism and Terror in Europe.
Related blog post: When started Arbeiderpartiets attack on Norwegian culture? (Når startet Arbeiderpartiets angrep på Norsk kultur?)
Related article: Dream of Disneyland – “What was wrong with the Norwegian culture, since the Labor Party will replace it with multiculturalism?” (Drøm fra Disneyland – “Hva var galt med norsk kultur, siden Arbeiderpartiet vil erstatte den med flerkultur?”)
Related article: This is the FRP code (Dette er Frp-koden)
Related link: Culcom
Breivik in court: “We shall fight against the traitors in the Labor Party”
The courtroom buzzed with the sound of cameras as Anders Behring Breivik entered the Oslo District Court (Tingrett) today for the last incarceration hearing before the trial begins on April 16. As he entered the courtroom, Breivik performed the Knights Templar clenched fist salute described in his compendium, “2083: A European Declaration of Independence.”
As in the previous court proceeding, Breivik objected to the neutrality of the court and Judge Wenche Fliflet Gjelsten. “You have received your mandate from organizations that support multiculturalism, and for this reason I have objections regarding your neutrality,” Breivik said according to VG.
During the proceeding, Breivik asked permission from the judge to say a few words about why he admits to committing the 7/22 attacks, but does not admit legal guilt for them.
“The attack against the governmental offices was directed against traitors that commit cultural destruction, the deconstruction of the Norwegian ethnic group. It is the same as ethnic cleansing,” Breivik said according to NRK.
“I am a militant nationalist. I represent native Norwegians. I am a commander of Knights Templar Norway. We in the Norwegian resistance movement are not going to sit still and watch us become a minority in our own capitol and country. We shall fight against the traitors in the Labor party,” said Breivik.
The judge, then, tried to interrupt Breivik, who said: “Now I am about to come to the conclusion. I cannot acknowledge legal guilt. I acted in emergency defense of my people, culture and country.” He then requested that he be released immediately.
According to Norwegian media, many of the plaintiffs present in the courtroom laughed out loud several times when Breivik was addressing the court.
Google translation:
Demanded to be released immediately
02/06/12
Anders Breivik Behring says he acted in self-defense, and therefore requires to be released immediately. He also believes he should be awarded war cross with three swords. The terror suspect met with scattered laughter in the courtroom today.
Anders Behring Breivik started the hearing to protest the judge, because he thought she is disqualified.
Breivik said that the attacks were meant to those engaged in ethnic cleansing.
He made it clear that he is familiar with the charges.
“I recognize the actions, but I do not acknowledge guilt. In this connection I wish to explain to me. So if I could get a minute, I had been greatly praise it? Is it okay?” said Brevik.
The judge agreed that he could have one minute to explain himself.
“The attacks against the government quarter was directed against traitors who commit cultural destruction, deconstruction of the Norwegian ethnic group. It is the same as Norwegian ethnic cleansing,” said Breivik, and it sounded ridiculous in the auditorium.
“I am a militant militarist, a commander of the Knights Templar Norway. We in the Norwegian resistance movement is not going to sit and look at deconstruction. We shall fight against the traitors of the Labour Party,” said Breivik.
The judge tried to interrupt him.
“Now I come to the conclusion,” stressed Breivik.
“I can not admit guilt. I acted in self-defense for my people, culture and my country,” said Breivik and petitioned therefore released immediately.
“I do not accept detention and demand to be released immediately, he said to laughter from the audience….”
Original article: Krevde å bli løslatt umiddelbart
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Google translation:
Utøya-victims laughed at Breivik in court
02/06/12
- Lippestad: Breivik showed right-wing greeting
- Called expert report laughable
When Breivik entered the courtroom in the Oslo District Court raised his hands and showed handcuffs in what looked like a planned gesture.
After the meeting, explained the detention Geir Lippestad, one of his defenders, that it was a kind of right-wing message.
“He showed a kind of right-wing greeting, but I do not know anything more about it,” says Lippestad, who said he did not see all the greeting when his client performed it in the courtroom….
This is the last time Breivik presented for custody before the trial starts on 16 April. Police have requested that the court keeps the mass murderer locked up until trial, because there is a risk of new offenses….
Original article: Utøya-fornærmede lo av Breivik i retten
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Related post: Breivik’s statement in court February 6, 2012
Related article: Breivik made right-wing gesture in the courtroom (Breivik gjorde høyreekstrem hilsen i rettssalen)
Related article: How Breivik gave his reasons for his demand (Slik begrunnet Breivik sitt krav)
Related article: Minutes of the meeting of incarceration Breivik (Referat fra fengslingsmøtet for Breivik)
March phone threats were made to the Justice Department
Stavangeravisen writes that the March telephone threats were made to the Justice Department.
Previous Justice Minister, Knut Storberget (Labor), stepped down in November 2011, a week after he and several other Labor Party leaders received threats posted on a Russian website from a group called The Organization for a Free Norway (Organisasjonen Fritt Norge). Storberget had been a controversial Justice Minister due to his attempts to introduce law changes that would make blasphemy illegal and proposing that the hijab should be allowed in the Norwegian police force.
The Justice Department was located on the seventh floor of the same building as the Prime Minster’s office and was amongst the most severely destroyed offices in the building. Four Justice Department staff members were killed in the 7/22 attacks, three were at work inside the building and one was attending the Labor Youth Organization (AUF) camp at Utøya.
Google translation:
Now do not talk anymore Breivik
24/01/12
Behring Breivik refuses to talk to police before they can guarantee him computer access for the whole sentence after trial. It will not the police do….
The police would, among other things, Breivik asked if it was he who called the Justice Department in March last year and threatened to kill AUF-ers….
Original article: Nå snakker ikke Breivik lenger
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Related post: Caller to government offices in March mentioned shooting Labor Youth members
Related post: Breivik admits he called goverment department, does not confirm he was March caller
Related article: Storberget about death threats: “Unpleasant for me and family” (Storberget om drapstruslene: – Ubehagelig for meg og familien)
Related article: Tearful Storberget: “I have four good reasons to resign” (Gråtkvalt Storberget: – Jeg har fire gode grunner til å gå av)
Related article: The clock stopped when the bomb slammed (Klokken stanset da bomben smalt)
Related article: Killed on the job for the Ministry of Justice (Drept på jobb for Justisdepartementet)
Related article: To see the meeting room of the Ministry of Justice out (Slik ser møterommet til Justisdepartementet ut
Governmental committee positive to hijab in the police force
Norwegian newspaper, Vårt Land, reports that a government-appointed committee, the Faith and Ethics Policy Committee, that was established a year and a half ago by Culture Minister, Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor), will likely propose that judges and police officers should be allowed to wear the hijab.
The question of whether the hijab should be allowed in the court system and police force has been a matter of heated debate in Norway. A proposal by previous Justice Minster, Knut Storberget (Labor), to allow the use of the hijab in the police force was withdrawn after it received strong negative reactions.
Google translation:
Wishes hijab in the police
01/16/12
Police and judges with the hijab may be the result if the government’s belief political committees gets its way….
Non-French. Stålsett [the committee chairman] is clear that Norway is in a different direction than France, which is the longest in Europe to ban the use of the hijab.
“So, the committee will not come down on any French, secular solution?”
“It will affect our conclusion that we in no way want to hide away or reduce the presence of religious symbols. We want to facilitate that diversity should be strong,” says Stålsett….
Original article: Ønsker hijab i politiet
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See also: Committee recommends hijab in the police (Utvalg foreslår hijab i politiet)
See also: Veiling the Police in Norway at Gates of Vienna.
