A memorial fund formed after the murder of a Norwegian student in London has decided to file a civil suit against the young man accused of the murder and his wealthy father, Shaher Abdulhak. Both live in Yemen, which has no extradition treaty with the UK or Norway.
The frustrated family of murdered student Martine Vik Magnussen is not directly involved in the lawsuit, reports newspaper Aftenposten, but supports it. The family has long received assistance from both the Norwegian and British governments and, most recently, from former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, to no avail.
A civilian lawsuit filed by Stiftelsen Martines Minnefond in Norway would aim to secure arrest orders on the Abdulhak family’s assets. The elder Abdulhak has had business dealings with a Norwegian oil company, for example, and may finally respond to the charges against his son if the case starts hitting him financially.
Magnussen’s body was found on March 14 2008 in the cellar of the building where Farouk Abdulhak was living in London. He was the last to be seen with the young woman and had already fled the country. British police have charged him with the murder but been unable to get him to face those charges in a London court. The young man is believed to use various identities and passports to move between Yemen, Cairo and Dubai.
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