One of Norway’s most dangerous men was on trial this week in a case that has raised serious concerns over the safety of public officials. The 39-year-old defendant is accused of setting the home of a local court judge in Hamar on fire, with the intention of killing both him and his family.
Neither the judge nor his wife were home at the time but their daughter and her girlfriend were. They managed to escape uninjured, but their home was destroyed.
The defendant is believed to have sought revenge after Judge Ola P Svor had handled a child custody case involving him and his former live-in partner. The defendant has also been convicted of massive violence against both the live-in partner and his daughter.
When police arrived at their home in response to alarms called in regarding domestic violence, the defendant sprayed acid in the faces and eyes of arriving police officers. He has since been held in high-security prison.
He has consistently denied guilt on any of the charges against him. When his trial on the fire set at the judge’s home began on Monday, he denied all charges of arson and attempted murder driven by revenge, adding that the charges against him in the domestic violence cases were also “false.”
newsinenglish.no staff
