33 people have had their application for legal assistance rejected after the mass shooting in Oslo on 25 June. The consequence may be that several people who were injured by Zaniar Matapour will not receive compensation.
Updated just now
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– Several of those who were refused are very angry. They tell of nightmares, they don’t get to sleep more than two or three hours a night and are scared, says lawyer Christian Lundin to VG.
He is assisting over 60 people who were present and were injured physically or psychologically by the shooting at the pubs Per på kørnket and London in Oslo during the Pride celebrations on 25 June, and has submitted the petition that the injured parties be appointed legal counsel to look after their interests
Lundin has received rejections for 33 of them and has started to complain.
“Several of the people Lundin has sought legal assistance from were involved in putting the double murderer Zaniar Matapour (42) on the ground and taking the gun from him,” says Lundin.
Hit the dance floor
One of the men who was rejected wants to share his story with VG.
When Matapour shot through the window, parts of the bullet hit him in the cheek while he was standing on the dance floor. He was also hit in the forearm. The projectiles were removed at Ullevål hospital under general anesthesia, according to the complaint Lundin has written for the man.
He has been on sick leave for three weeks, he still can’t open his mouth properly and the surgical wound in his arm got infected.
–The man has difficulty sleeping after the incident and there is reason to believe that he will suffer significant psychological damage, says Lundin.
His application for legal assistance was rejected by the Oslo district court. Lundin appealed this decision on Thursday.
– Many will appeal the refusals as they feel the refusals are very unreasonable, says Lundin, who adds that the practice is too strict.
–– Needs help
Assistance lawyers look after the interests of victims and survivors in connection with investigations and during court proceedings. The aid is covered by the public sector. Among other things, they can bring forward compensation claims on behalf of the clients in the criminal case.
– This is about putting in place a proper follow-up of the victim’s interests after the shooting. An assistance lawyer must look after their interests, and most people do not know how to proceed when claims are to be submitted, which claims are to be submitted, and when the claims are to be submitted. The Storting has decided that the claims must be included in the case against the perpetrator, but how will the victims cope without assistance, says Lundin.
It is the Oslo district court that has rejected the applications for legal assistance.
Lundin criticizes the proceedings at the district court and the way the law has been applied in the case.
– The rejections of requests for legal assistance started coming from the Oslo District Court just a few days after the incident, even though it was announced that it would take some time to obtain documentation from the health care system about the injuries they had sustained.
–Lundin was the legal representative for 70 victims after 22 July.
– It is obvious that the district court has adopted a very restrictive line this time and it does not seem that the district court has taken the seriousness of the case to heart when assessing the petitions, says Lundin.
The district court rejects criticism
– The District Court will always strive to follow the intentions of the law and case law, and will therefore neither choose a restrictive nor a “liberal” line. An important consideration is equality before the law, that is, that similar cases must be treated equally, writes communications manager Irene Ramm in an e-mail to VG on behalf of the Oslo District Court.
–She further writes that the case is not directly comparable to 22 July in some areas, and that as of today it is more unclear than the terrorist attack 11 years ago.
– As is well known, the role of the public defender is to safeguard the aggrieved party’s procedural rights and duties in the case. From 1 July this year, we have a new provision in the Criminal Procedure Act, where there is an opportunity to appoint legal aid lawyers with limited assignments, for example to bring claims for compensation. If there is a need for this in this case, the district court will consider in dialogue with the police and the coordinating legal aid attorney, writes Ramm.
A few rejections have already been reversed.
– Should updated information from the police indicate so, the district court will of course consider overturning other refusals, writes Ramm.
–From 21 to over 60 people
Lundin says that the police contacted him as early as the morning after the shooting to take on the work as legal aid for the victim in the case.
– First I was contacted with a request to assist the 21 who were then assumed to be injured. But it turned out that there were many more. I currently assist over 60 people who are physically and mentally injured, says Lundin.
Lundin is aware that the many rejections that have not been overturned will now end up in the Court of Appeal.
– More than 30 refusals have been received, and some appeals have already been submitted. It is expected that all refusals will be appealed, and the district court has so far only overturned two of the refusals. It cannot have been the legislator’s intention that such a strict practice should be followed as the district court has suggested here.
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