Bombing repairs face long delay

It’s likely to take at least another decade before Norway’s state government officials can move back into a new headquarters complex in the heart of downtown Oslo. The current left-center government that was attacked by a bomber and gunman in 2011 has decided against making any rebuilding decisions before the fall elections. Newspaper Dagsavisen reported [...]

Breivik’s defender back in the news

Geir Lippestad, the Norwegian defense attorney who represented terrorist and mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik last year, has been back in the news over the past week after releasing a new book and making a political appearance as a local Labour Party leader. He doesn’t think it was any lack of security or poor police [...]

New book traces rise of ‘Fjordman’

A new book released on Wednesday attempts to explain how the quiet son of left-wing radicals on Norway’s west coast turned into the anti-Islamist blogger called “Fjordman.” The blogger was later identified as a major source of inspiration for the ultra right-wing Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 persons on July 22, 2011, in attacks aimed [...]

AUF lobbies for more gun control

Security will be higher than ever before when Norway’s Labour Party holds its national meeting this weekend, and the head of its youth organization AUF will be lobbying for another sort of security measure as well. Eskil Pedersen wants a ban on semi-automatic weapons, and accuses all of Norway’s political parties of a lack of [...]

Streets may finally close around parliament

The president of the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) has asked the City of Oslo to finally close the two streets running adjacent to the historic building. The formal request comes nearly two years after a terrorist was able to drive right up to government ministry buildings a few blocks away and set off a bomb that [...]

No funeral leave for Breivik

Norwegian prison authorities have, as expected, turned down a request for funeral leave from convicted terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 persons in a bombing and massacre in the Oslo area 18 months ago. The authorities claim the security risk is too high. Breivik’s mother, Wenche Behring Breivik, died last last week after a [...]

Terrorist likely to be barred from attending his mother’s funeral

Convicted Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 persons on July 22, 2011, probably won’t be allowed to attend the funeral of this mother, who died over the weekend at the age of 66. Convicts like Breivik are rarely if ever granted leave from prison, and Breivik is under the highest security in Norwegian [...]

Government tries to tackle terror

The Norwegian government, severely chastened by the lack of effective response to the terrorist attacks on July 22, 2011, rolled out a package of measures on Wednesday aimed at improving disaster preparedness. Not everyone was convinced the new preparedness plan is sufficient. “It’s not usual to approve new funding in March, but now we’re doing [...]

Parliament united on July 22 critique

Norway’s Parliament made an historic decision this week when it stood united in its criticism of the government for its failure to protect the people on July 22, 2011, when a right-wing terrorist launched an attack. The prime minister called the settlement “a dignified political ending” to a national crisis. The Parliament agreed across party [...]

Researchers study Utøya survivors

Researchers in Oslo and Bergen are set to study the brains of young survivors of the massacre on the island of Utøya two years ago. Their goal is to determine whether the trauma experienced by survivors fleeing the gunman’s rampage left lasting changes among those under age 25. Newspaper Bergens Tidende reported on Monday that [...]

Ex-informant sparks new PST probe

Claims broadcast nationwide this week by a man who worked as an informant for Norway’s police intelligence unit PST have set off a new probe into whether PST has engaged in illegal surveillance. The investigation is being carried out by the parliamentary commission charged with monitoring the activities of Norway’s secret intelligence-gathering services. The commission (called EOS-utvalget) [...]

Ex-PST informant stirs new debate

Debate over how Norway’s police intelligence unit PST does its job has fired up again, after Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) aired a program in which a former PST informant who infiltrated extremist organizations told his story on national TV. The program included chilling tape recordings of the informant’s meetings with both PST officials and, for example, [...]

Government gets historic scolding

Members of Parliament wrote history in Norway on Tuesday when they collectively criticized Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s government coalition for failing to head off or adequately respond to the terrorist attacks of July 22, 2011. Even the government parties, including Labour, scolded Norway’s political leadership for being unable to protect the Norwegian people. The criticism [...]

Police release right-wing extremist who threatened to bomb Parliament

UPDATED: The 27-year-old right-wing extremist who unleashed a massive police operation on Wednesday, after he was overheard talking about plans to blow up the Norwegian Parliament, was a free man by the weekend. Police claimed they had no legal grounds to hold him in custody any longer. The young Norwegian man from Hønefoss has made [...]

Breivik prosecutor switches sides

Svein Holden became a familiar face last year not just to Norwegians but to TV viewers around the world, when he helped lead the prosecution of the man who bombed government headquarters in 2011 and massacred 69 persons on the island of Utøya. Now the articulate 39-year-old lawyer is making a major career switch. After [...]

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