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Teenager jailed over terror attack plot in Norway

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Teenager jailed over terror attack plot in Norway
This picture taken on March 14, 2016 shows the entrance to the Skien prison, some 130 km south west of Oslo, where Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has been serving his sentence since September 2013. - Anders Behring Breivik, the far right extremist who killed 77 people in Norway on July 22, 2011, sues the Norwegian State over jail conditions which he claims violate human rights. (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP)

A 16-year-old youth was convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in Norway and participating in the terrorist organisation Isis, by the Oslo District Court on Tuesday.

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The boy, originally from Syria and who has not been named for legal reasons, was sentenced to five years in prison with three years probation for planning a terrorist plot and being affiliated with Isis.

The boy had made nicotine poison and begun preparing for an attack that would take place on May 17th, Norway’s national day.

“After the presentation of evidence, the court has no doubt that despite his young age, he had made a conscious decision to carry out a terrorist act, even though his plans failed to materialise into something more concrete,” Oslo District Judge Ingvild Boe Hornbuh said in her verdict.

The defendant admitted to making the nicotine poison but said he did so out of curiosity after someone had given him a recipe to do so.

He also admitted to having donated money to a site with Isis propaganda and uploading a tutorial on how to upload Isis propaganda on Twitter without it being blocked by filters.

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Prosecutor Marit Formo also presented evidence in which the 16-year-old wrote that he should start with Jihad “soon” and that a possible attack could occur on May 17th.

READ ALSO: What makes Norway's criminal justice system unique 

The prosecution had wanted the boy to be sentenced to at least eight years in prison with four years of probation.

The judge, however, handed the boy what she called a “significant” reduction in punishment due to his young age.

Oslo district court said in its verdict that the boy had acted with intent and had participated in a terrorist organisation, even if he hadn’t gotten very far with his plans.

The lawyer for the boy, Andreas Berg Fevang, said that he was pleased that the sentence the boy was given was lower than what the prosecution had demanded.

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