Norway’s domestic police intelligence agency PST has confirmed that a young Norwegian man charged with terrorism in Norway has had contact with one or more of those arrested in a major crackdown on an alleged terrorist network in Denmark. Danish police claim a terrorist attack was in the planning stages.
“I can confirm that there is a connection from the Danish police action to a concrete person in Norway,” Trond Hugubakken, communications director at PST, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
PST didn’t want to comment further on who the “concrete person” is or comment on NRK’s own information about the man believed to be involved. NRK reported that it’s been told that a Norwegian man in his 20s has had online contact with one of more of those arrested in Denmark on Wednesday.
Danish police launched a nationwide series of raids that resulted in the arrests of six men and two women, all of whom faced custody hearings on serious terror charges. Danish news bureau Ritzau reported that police believe they are members of an extremist Islamic network that planned a terrorist atatck in Denmark, and that those involved have attemped to acquire weapons and explosives. A total of 20 people were initially arrested but 12 were expected to be released.
Hugubakken told NRK that PST is “aware” that “a person in Norway has “a connection to Denmark,” and that PST knows “who the person in Norway is.” That hasn’t had any impact, however, on PST’s evaluation of the terror threat in Norway.
Asked why, Hugubakken said that it was “in no way surprising that there are connections between terror networks in one country to many other countries. We have seen that in very many cases. It’s not unnatural that contact crosses borders.”
He wouldn’t say what the consequences may be for the “person in Norway.” NRK described him as a man from Telemark who was charged in another terror case in September. He has denied the charges against him.
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
