MEMORIAL MARKING: The people of Holmlia lit candles and laid flowers at the memorial after Benjamin Hermansen on 20 July. Earlier in the day, the memorial was vandalized. Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB
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About 30 people gathered on Tuesday night at Holmlia in Oslo to remember Benjamin Hermansen – the same day as the memorial was tagged down.
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Those present laid flowers and lit candles at the memorial.
One of those present, Farukh Qureshi, tells Aftenposten that people are affected by the tag episode, but that it is also good to gather.
– There are people of all ages, he says.
It was earlier on Tuesday 20 July that a man who lives in the area, discovered that someone had tagged “Breivik was right” on the memorial. The far-right message was condemned by a number of politicians, including Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H), who visited the memorial on the same day.
Saint about vandalism
According to Aftenposten, Kristina Lie-Hagen was among the first to try to remove the tagging, after finding out about the incident via the Facebook group “Engaged Holmlians”.
– I was very angry when I saw it. I went straight to the stall and got a rag and white spirit. I just wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible, she tells the newspaper.
However, it was only when a caretaker from Åsbråten service center came with a grinding wheel that they had the text removed.
In January 2021, it was 20 years since the murder of 15-year-old Benjamin Hermansen. The murder was racistly motivated, and three members of the neo-Nazi group Boot Boys were sentenced to prison for complicity in the murder.
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