Bomb indicted man jailed for four weeks

Police House at Ski bombThe Police House at Ski was cordoned of after receiving a suspicious parcel. Photo: VGTV (Screen grab)

Bomb indicted man jailed for four weeks

The man who is indicted for sending a bomb to the Police House in Ski is detained for four weeks by the Halden District Court. He appealed the decision on the spot.

 

The man in his early forties was brought before the Halden District Court on Saturday afternoon, where the accused opposed imprisonment. District Court Judge, Pia Skjørshammer Klafstad, shares the police’s opinion that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting the man of being behind the bomb that was sent to the police in Ski on Wednesday.

– The court finds that it is probable that the alleged perpetrators handwriting was on the package, according to the court order.

The District Court, therefore, upheld the claim from the police that the accused should be detained for four weeks, with a letters and visits ban and that he is to be kept in solitary custody for the first two weeks.

– The suspect was arrested yesterday and the case is in an early phase. The case concerns a very serious offence and the police have not ruled out more arrests in the case. The police are working on clarifying the scope of the case, the role of the accused and any potential accomplices or otherwise involved, the ruling continues.

The accused immediately appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal.

Persecuted by the police

The prison meeting was scheduled to start at 4 pm but was delayed by half an hour because the accused was sent to the emergency room, according to VG. The meeting was held behind closed doors.

The accused man was indicted by the police on Thursday evening but was not arrested until Friday afternoon at the Skedsmo Shopping Centre in Akershus. Before the court hearing was held on Saturday, it was important for the man to inform that he did not oppose the arrest, but volunteered after an agreement was reached with the police attorney, VG writes.

The accused has been appointed lawyer John Christian Elden as his defence. According to Elden, his client has not acknowledged the offence.

– He has not consented to imprisonment and believes himself persecuted by the police during the last ten years, Elden comments to NTB on Saturday.

Bomb squad

The alert was raised at the Police House at Ski when a parcel was to be opened on Wednesday morning. An employee suspected something was wrong with it. The bomb squad of the police arrived on site around 45 minutes later, and they chose to fire shots at the parcel to render it harmless.

The police state that the object was a live bomb intended to harm people, albeit not professionally made.

The police early on started to investigate what they referred to as candidates with matching modus operandi, which quickly narrowed the number of suspects down. On Thursday, the police filed charges against the man who they arrested on Friday.

– We knew who was behind the bomb threat on Thursday night, and he was then formally charged. We could, however, not do anything before he was apprehended, Police Attorney, John Skarpeid, tells NTB.

Large police action

On Friday evening, the police moved out in a large action to the charged man’s residence in Skedsmo on Romerike, together with the bomb squad, the fire department and health services. Fear of possible traps set up by the accused led to a large attendance by the emergency services.

Neighbours were evacuated and a large area around the block of flats was cordoned off. Late on Friday night, the police notified that the evacuated residents could move back home. At 9.45 pm, the bomb squad left the residence empty-handed.

The accused is well-known to the police from earlier encounters, including for threats against the police and judiciary, the East Police District announces in a press release. To NRK, Skarpeid says that the man has previously been found guilty of tagging both the court building at Romerike and the local Police station earlier this year.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today