Zaniar Matapour is sentenced to 30 years in prison for gross terrorist offenses after the shooting at two bars in Oslo in 2022.
Two men were killed and nine people were injured in the act, which took place during the Norwegian capital's Pride week.
During the night of Saturday, June 25, 2022, Matapour opened fire on guests at a bar in central Oslo. Then he went on to a popular gay bar and continued shooting. Two men in their 50s and 60s were killed, and several injured were treated in hospital.
Oslo's Pride festival had been organized during the week, and Saturday's planned parade was cancelled for security reasons. Despite the warning, a spontaneous parade with a hundred people marched through the capital.
Can appeal
The now-convicted 45-year-old Zaniar Matapour was arrested immediately after the act. According to the prosecutor, he had sworn allegiance to the terrorist organization IS before the shooting, which he denied. The Norwegian security police had known about him since 2015, and already then there were suspicions of radicalization.
Zaniar Matapour, who is a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, has previously been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, according to court documents. He is the first to be sentenced to 30 years in prison for gross terrorist offenses after a law change in 2015.
Defense attorney Marius Dietrichson tells NRK that it is likely that the verdict will be appealed.
We naturally have to go through the verdict in detail before we can decide whether to appeal or not, he says.
Millions in damages
At least 560 people were in the area in central Oslo when Matapour opened fire. A total of 312 people have been counted as plaintiffs. The shooter is now sentenced to pay over 110 million Norwegian kronor in damages to the victims.
Plaintiff Espen Evjenth, who was shot in the forehead during the act, tells the newspaper VG that it is important for those affected that society acknowledges what they have been through.
Many have been hesitant to call this terrorism. We hope that this will now come to an end, he says.
Oslo Pride's CEO Dan Bjørke calls it "an important day for the queer community".
Diversity is here – it will not disappear. It's about the extent to which we as a society manage to create space for everyone to feel a sense of belonging and live safe, free lives, he says.
