At 09.15 on Tuesday morning, 44-year-old Zaniar Matapour arrived in courtroom 250 at the courthouse in Oslo.
He will stay here for the next two months, to answer charges of serious terrorism after the mass shooting in the center of Oslo – just a stone’s throw from the courthouse – on 25 June 2022.
This video shows Zaniar Matapour’s movements leading up to and during the event 25.06.2022 Show more
Matapour is wearing a white kufi (a Muslim prayer cap, journ. note) and had a long beard when he entered the hall, flanked by several police guards.
Before he wanted to give his personal details to the judge, Matapour interrupted to say something:
– Why is this scheme carried out during Ramadan, which is very important for Muslims, he asked – and compared Ramadan with Christmas and Easter for Christians.
Shot by Matapour
Espen Evjenth was shot in the head on 25 June. On Tuesday, he was at the Oslo district court to follow the case.
– It is demanding to enter the same room as him, he says of being in the same hall as Zaniar Matapour.
– I think there were more people who felt it. It is a difficult day, but at the same time nice to be here. I am very much looking forward to the court settlement, he continues to Dagbladet.
SURVIVOR: Espen Evjenth was shot in the head on 25 June. The scar is still visible. Now he wants to follow the trial against the man who shot him. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet Show more
Evjenth noticed that Matapour appears unaffected in the hall.
– It is difficult to see that he is unaffected by the accusations leveled against him, but I don’t have much more to say about the terrorist, he says.
It has now been over a year and a half since the attack. It has been a long time to stand in what Evjenth describes as an unsettled situation.
– There are many people who have questions that they want answered, and there are many people who have some unresolved situation in their lives because of this, he says.
Aisha Kausar (32) charged with terrorist involvement
Penalty limit of 30 years
The case started with Sturla Henriksbø reading out the indictment against Matapour, where it is described how Matapour opened fire outside the pubs London Pub and Per på Hjørnet on the night of 25 June a year and a half ago.
Jon Erik Isachsen (54) and Kåre Arvid Hesvik (60) were killed, and nine other people suffered gunshot wounds.
The current penal provision that Matapour is charged with having violated was established after the terrorist attacks on 22 July 2011. The penalty is imprisonment for up to 30 years.
The 44-year-old defendant looked serious as Henriksbø read out the indictment. When asked how he pleads guilty, Matapour shook his head.
– No, he answered.
The trial against terrorist defendant Zaniar Matapour (44) is underway in Oslo District Court, and it is historic. Matapour is accused of having shot and killed Kåre Hesvik (60) and Jon Erik Isachsen (54) when he opened fire on the night of Saturday 25 June 2022 at the pubs Per på kørnket and London Pub in central Oslo. view more
Audio clip of oath of allegiance
In her introductory presentation to the court, State Attorney Sturla Henriksbø paints a picture of Matapour as a man with a troubled background and a difficult upbringing.
In his late teens and 20s, he was convicted of violence and drug offences.
– He had short-term employment relationships in his 20s, but was never able to establish himself in working life, said Henriksbø.
Matapour has also previously been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The 44-year-old’s sanity is a central theme in the trial. Here, the experts are divided: Two of them believe that he has the capacity to blame, while a third believes that he does not.
In his introductory speech, Henriksbø also played a 57-second audio clip, in which the prosecution believes that Matapour swears allegiance to the terrorist organization The Islamic State (IS).
The audio clip must have been recorded just hours before the shooting.
– We will provide evidence that this oath of allegiance is designed in the same way as similar oaths of allegiance other terrorists have given to IS, before other terrorist actions in Europe in recent years, said the prosecutor.
BEARD AND KUFI: Matapour has let his beard grow while he has been in custody since the summer of 2022. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet Show more
Machine gun tickled
Henriksbø also showed a compilation of several surveillance videos from the center of Oslo, which show the sequence of events.
The videos show Matapour getting off the tram and starting shooting, first with an MP40 submachine gun and then a Luger pistol, before he is finally tackled to the ground by civilians.
– The prosecution will state that the machine gun probably tickled. When he tried to reload the gun, he was chased by people who held him down until the police could arrest him, Henriksbø said in court.
Several of the audience in the hall, many of them directly affected by the terrorist attack, were clearly influenced by the impressions from the video.
THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE: State prosecutors Aud Kinsarvik Gravås and Sturla Henriksbø lead the case for the public prosecutor’s office. Photo: Bjørn Langsem / Dagbladet Show more
– Looking forward to getting started
Before the court was set on Tuesday morning, the prosecution held a press briefing.
– We look forward to getting started. We know that it has been particularly a burden for the aggrieved to wait, says Aud Kinsarvik Gravås.
When asked what the main questions are in the two-month-long trial, her colleague Henriksbø replies:
– There are the actions committed by Zaniar Matapour, and whether he has the capacity to blame.
Matapour has said he will not testify at the trial.
– He has the right to that, and we must respect that right, says Henriksbø.
Requires inspection
Islamist Arfan Bhatti, who the police believe has a role in the case, is still in Pakistan.
– Good opportunities
– There is still some processing to be done before he can come here. Alternatively, we will try to get him to explain himself via video link, says Henriksbø.
In response to questions from Dagbladet, the prosecution states that the Islamist has made a number of demands for a possible explanation.
Among other things, Bhatti demands to gain insight into all hidden investigative steps and intelligence operations.
– This involves access to a number of case documents. It will be difficult to comply with this, says Henriksbø.