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March 9, 2006
Norway: Mosque Violence - Suspects Released Into The Community
On Friday, March 3 there was a major disturbance when assailants armed with bats and knives attacked the imam of the Markazi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat mosque in Gronland district in Oslo. The attack, which happened after Friday prayers, led to at least three people being taken to hospital, including the imam. One of the victims was the imam, Malik Mohammad Raza. Six people were injured in the fracas.
Mr Raza claimed that he had been attacked by Khalid Mahmood, a local Labor Party politician. Mahmood denied he had been involved in the assault, and even claimed that he was attacked by a man with a knife, who subsequently fled in a taxi. Police have confirmed that there is no evidence to back up the politician's claim.
On March 6 we reported that police had taken five people into custody following the violence. There are other mosques which have been involved with conflict, and a police officer, Lieutenant Erik Ande is attempting to keep such conflicts to a minimum at five separate mosques, including the Markazi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat mosque.
On March 7, we reported that the administrative governor of Oslo and Akerhus County has warned that if the mosque has been involved in illegal activity, its public funding would be suspended. in 2005, the mosque received the equivalent of $211,000 in state-donated funding.
Now, today's Aftenposten reports that the five suspects who were placed in cusody have now been released. Police have officially claimed that they have been set free because there is not enough space to house them.
This decision, which would worry any citizen of Oslo, should there be any crime-wave, has naturally caused disbelief, but one of those doubting the stated police reasons is a defense lawyer for the accused.
Oyvin Bergoy Pederson has suggested that with there being two factions involved in the case, there is difficulty in knowing which side's evidence to trust. He also stated that the men's conditions of custody were inadequate.
"They have had a cell with a mattress on a concrete block. After Norway was criticized by the European Council's torture committee a rule has been implemented so that one must be transferred from a holding cell to a normal jail within 24 hours. This had not happened when the deadline expired yesterday evening," he said.
The conflict in the mosque appears to be from vying factions who wish to conrol the mosque's finances. The politician Khald mahmoud belongs to one of these factions, and imam Malik Mohammad Raza belongs to another.
The stories given by witnesses, victims and suspected assailants do not match up. The mosque's repesentatives gave eight names to the police, who supposedly carried out attacks. Six were charged, and five were taken into custody. Three of those held in custody were noted in their court appearance to have visible injuries, from stab wounds and battery.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 9, 2006 4:24 PM
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