Norwegian teen charged with terrorism after Oslo killing
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An 18-year-old Norwegian man has been charged with terrorism after killing Ethiopian-born social worker Tamima Nibras Juhar in Oslo, with prosecutors saying he admitted involvement in the murder.
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Police officers secure the area as road sweeping vehicles clear glass near the site of Friday's explosion in Oslo, Norway, in this file photo dated July 23, 2011. (AP)
An 18-year-old Norwegian man is under investigation for terrorism after the murder of a social worker in Oslo, authorities said Monday, in what may have been a racially motivated attack.
The victim, identified by family lawyers as 34-year-old Tamima Nibras Juhar, originally from Ethiopia, was killed overnight Saturday to Sunday at a residential home for vulnerable youth. According to local media, she was stabbed to death.
The suspect, a resident at the home, was arrested shortly after the incident and admitted to involvement in the murder, police confirmed.
Deputy prosecutor Philip Green said the charges had been expanded to include terrorism after investigators learned the suspect had plans to harm others.
“During his interrogation, he also said he planned to hurt several people,” Green said. “At this stage, we believe he planned to spread terror among part of the population, and that’s why he is now the subject of a terrorism investigation.”
The prosecutor noted the suspect had expressed hostile views toward Muslims. Norwegian media reported he also intended to attack a mosque, though Green did not confirm that detail. The teen, believed to have acted alone, was set to appear before a judge before being placed in detention.
The case has drawn attention due to Norway’s history of far-right extremist violence.
In 2011, Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people, most of them youths, by detonating a bomb in central Oslo and then opening fire at a Labour Party youth camp on Utoya Island.
In 2019, Philip Manshaus opened fire inside a mosque near Oslo after killing his adopted Asian half-sister. Worshippers managed to overpower him before anyone was seriously injured.
Both men received 21-year prison sentences, extendable for as long as they are deemed a threat to society.
