DAWN.COM

Today's Paper | May 04, 2026

Published 30 Apr, 2008 12:00am

Norwegian of Pakistani origin faces 10-year term

OSLO, April 29: Three men accused of shooting at a synagogue and plotting attacks against the US and Israeli embassies in Oslo should receive prison terms of between two and 10 years, the prosecutor in the case told an Oslo court on Tuesday.

The three defendants are the first to be tried under new anti-terror laws introduced in Norway after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

The lead defendant, Irfan Q. Bhatti, a 30-year-old Norwegian of Pakistani origin, should be sentenced to 10 years behind bars, six of which should be without the possibility of parole, the prosecutor said.

Bhatti, a debt collector, stands charged along with Ibrahim Oezbabacan, a 29-year-old man of Turkish origin, with firing an automatic weapon at the Oslo synagogue on Sept 17, 2006. No one was injured in the attack.

Bhatti and a third man, Andreas Bog Kristiansen, 28, also stand accused of planning attacks on the synagogue and on US and Israeli embassies in Oslo.

The alleged attacks were foiled after police learned of the plans.

The prosecutor, who requested two-year prison terms for Kristiansen and Oezbabacan, said that even if Bhatti was not found guilty of terrorism he should receive a stiff sentence for his criminal activity.—AFP

Read Comments

US awards F-16 upgrade contract for Pakistan, other states Next Story