The three immigrants to Norway who’ve been charged with planning a terrorist attack are being allowed to see their families for the first time since they were arrested and jailed in early July. Another terror suspect from Somalia, meanwhile, was also in an Oslo court this week.
The three men arrested in July were ordered held for another four weeks on Monday but the court turned down the prosecution’s request that they continue to be held in isolation. In two weeks, they’ll be allowed access to the news media, and letters and visits will only be monitored, not forbidden. They’ll be allowed to see their families beginning this week.
Defense attorneys believe their clients will remain in custody until their trials start next year, probably not until autumn 2011.
Meanwhile, in another terror case unfolding in Oslo, a 40-year-old Somalian-Norwegian man denied charges that he has helped finance terrorist activities and supported the terrorist group al-Shabaab.
The defendant was arrested after police claimed he sent at least NOK 200,000 (about USD 30,000) to central leaders of the group in Somalia. Fellow Somalians in Oslo have supported his claims of innocence, saying he was merely sending financial aid home to his family. Many of them have likened the terrorist charges to an assault on the Somalian community in Norway.
Views and News staff
