In an internal e-mail in TV2, news editor Karianne Solbrække writes about her previous relationship with the well-known Islamist Arfan Bhatti. – I understand that this is coming up, she writes to VG.
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«As you know, I made a big mistake 16 years ago – which I then publicly apologized for», Writes Solbrække (49) in the e-mail, according to Aftenposten.
TV 2’s news editor is aiming for the relationship she had to Bhatti (44) for a period in the mid-2000s.
Bhatti has recently been in the spotlight again as a result of the link to terror suspect Zaniar Matapour (43) after the bar shooting in Oslo. Among other things, according to VG’s information, they have been in a chat group together and become stopped in a car together.
Solbrække was a journalist on TV 2 when she was involved with Bhatti. The relationship was ended when she was called as a witness in the trial about the synagogue shooting in 2008.
In 2017, she became a news editor at TV 2.
– I understand that this is coming up, Solbrække writes in a comment to VG on Monday afternoon.
– I made a big mistake 16 years ago, which I regretted at the time. 11 years later, I was trusted by the editor-in-chief of TV 2, Olav Sandnes. I have tried to manage that trust in a good way, she adds.
Still holding on to the cases
VG has also sent Solbrække questions related to her impartiality in news cases concerning Arfan Bhatti. Head of Communications Tor-Martin Torbergsen in TV 2 points out that such questions of competence must be answered by editor-in-chief Olav T. Sandnes.
– Nothing has happened lately that changes either my assessment of her impartiality or her confidence, the TV 2 boss replies in an e-mail to VG.
– This case came up because questions were asked about why TV 2 postponed the news about Bhatti, which was demonstrably wrong, he adds.
– Does this mean that Solbrække is actually involved in the Bhatti cases?
– She is a news editor, and holds as little and as much in these cases as other cases. It is the whole team of journalists, editors and editors who Karianne leads, who make the ongoing assessments, the editor-in-chief answers.
–– How has Solbrække himself contributed to the assessment of his own impartiality, ref. Be careful poster about integrity and credibility?
– By being open to me when I hired her, about a short-term relationship that was then 11 years back in time, Sandnes answers.
Sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the Beware poster emphasizes, among other things, that editors must protect their independence, and that they must be open about underlying issues.
In the commentary to VG, Karianne Solbrække writes that she believes it is a matter of course that TV 2’s journalism should not be influenced by either her or others’ past.
– I have a boss above me, and I have a large group of qualified managers, edition managers and shift managers on teams, who make good decisions every single day, she writes.
– Not least, I have an editorial office with extremely talented journalists who do journalism regardless of my or others’ past, she adds.
Has been open on TV 2
The news editor says that she has been open about the matter within TV 2, but that she has chosen not to talk about it in public – for the sake of children and the rest of the family.
– This is part of my story, which I live with the consequences of, writes Solbrække.
– I took leave at that time, instead of seeking my way away from the media. Then I completely voluntarily chose to become a news editor at TV 2 when I gained that trust. Then everyone also knew that this was part of my luggage.
Not identified
With few exceptions, Norwegian media, including VGnot to identify Solbrække during a trial where the affair became known, in 2008. She was then a journalist and not suspected of any illegal circumstances, but testified in the trial.
–Arfan Bhatti (44) has been convicted several times. In 2008, he was convicted of complicity in damage after a shot at a synagogue in Oslo, but acquitted of the charge on terrorist planning.
He has also been a leader in the controversial group The Prophet’s Ummah. The group has openly supported the extremist group The Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIL), also called IS, and recruited more to the war in Syria.
Was mentioned in Facebook posts
In a Facebook post published by financier Eirik Furuseth (44) on Saturday night in connection with the mass shooting in Oslo last week, Solbrekke’s relationship with Arfan Bhatti in the 2000s was mentioned. Furuseth questioned whether this had affected the channel’s coverage of the links between the accused after the mass shooting, Zaniar Matapour, and the Islamist Arfan Bhatti.
“Strangely enough, TV 2 does not report this,” Furuseth wrote in the post.
On Friday, TV 2 boss Olav Sandnes wrote the following to VG about the statement from Furuseth:
– In this case, there have been allegations that TV 2 did not publish a news item for other than editorial reasons. That is demonstrably wrong.
Last week it became known that TV 2’s foreign journalist Fredrik Græsvik (55) after the Facebook post had sent messages which was perceived by Furuseth (44) as threatening. TV 2 has apologized for the incident and said that it is incompatible with their journalistic assignments.
On Monday morning, the editor-in-chief also published one article about the Græsvik case on TV 2’s website.
Correction: The first version of this case stated that Arfan Bhatti was sentenced to eight years’ detention in a case which, among other things, involved shooting at a synagogue in Oslo. This detention sentence was later overturned by the Supreme Court. The case was corrected at 22.10 on Monday 4 July.
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