Forensic committee to examine the mental health of Oslo Pride shooter
Psychiatric experts in Norway are at odds over the mental health, and associated legal responsibility, of a shooter who killed two people on the sidelines of Oslo's 2022 Pride festival, police said Thursday.
On the night of June 25th , 2022, a man opened fire outside a gay bar in central Oslo during the festival, killing two men, aged 54 and 60, and
wounding nine others.
Just after the attack, police arrested the suspect, Zaniar Matapour, a now 44-year-old Norwegian of Pakistani origin who had contacts with a known Islamist in Norway, Arfan Bhatti.
Two psychiatrists who examined Matapour found he was mentally sane at the time and therefore legally responsible for his actions, but a third expert came to the opposite conclusion.
A forensic committee will now examine their findings, and the final decision about his legal responsibility will lie with judges.
Matapour is currently in custody on suspicion of a terrorist act, but has yet to be charged. His trial could take place in 2024.
Bhatti, who is suspected of being an accessory, has been arrested in Pakistan and Norwegian authorities are seeking his extradition.
In June, Norway's domestic intelligence service apologised after a report concluded it could have prevented the shooting.
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On the night of June 25th , 2022, a man opened fire outside a gay bar in central Oslo during the festival, killing two men, aged 54 and 60, and
wounding nine others.
Just after the attack, police arrested the suspect, Zaniar Matapour, a now 44-year-old Norwegian of Pakistani origin who had contacts with a known Islamist in Norway, Arfan Bhatti.
Two psychiatrists who examined Matapour found he was mentally sane at the time and therefore legally responsible for his actions, but a third expert came to the opposite conclusion.
A forensic committee will now examine their findings, and the final decision about his legal responsibility will lie with judges.
Matapour is currently in custody on suspicion of a terrorist act, but has yet to be charged. His trial could take place in 2024.
Bhatti, who is suspected of being an accessory, has been arrested in Pakistan and Norwegian authorities are seeking his extradition.
In June, Norway's domestic intelligence service apologised after a report concluded it could have prevented the shooting.
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