2010 Norway terror plot

The 2010 Norway terror plot was a Norway-based plan to bomb the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and to kill the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Two men with links to Al-Qaeda were convicted for the plot, while a third person was acquitted for terror charges.

Background

After investigations by Norwegian intelligence in cooperation with US and British intelligence, three men with residence in Norway were arrested on 8 July 2010 in what was described as part of the largest terrorist network uncovered since the September 11 attacks.[1] The men were thought to be part of an Al-Qaeda cell in Norway with links to the network responsible for the 2009 New York City Subway and United Kingdom plot,[2] and were charged with conspiracy to commit one or more acts of terrorism in Norway.[1][3] The plots were thought to have been ordered by Saleh al-Somali, and to have had links to Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah.[4][5] At least two of the suspects had regularly attended the Muslim Cultural Center in Sarpsborg, a radical mosque known for its militant views.[4][6][7]

Suspects

Investigation and trial

According to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), the men were thought to have planned to make bombs based on hydrogen peroxide.[3] It was revealed that Jakobsen had contacted PST months prior to the arrest, and that he had functioned as their informant.[3] Due to being under extensive surveillance, Norwegian police were able to replace the dangerous chemicals thought to be acquired by the cell with harmless ones.[4]

In September, Bujak confessed to having planned to bomb the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and to shoot the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard together with Davud.[3][8] All three men had changed their names in the aftermath of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[4] Some days later, the suspected main perpetrator Mikael Davud claimed that he had planned to bomb the Chinese embassy in Oslo as part of a personal vendetta unknowingly to the other suspects.[3] A solo plot would notably have avoided the stricter sentencing under Norway's anti-terror laws which required a person to have entered into a conspiracy with at least one other person.[4]

On 30 January 2012 the Oslo District Court convicted Davud and Bujak for conspiracy to commit terror against Jyllands-Posten in Copenhagen or Århus, while dismissing Davud's claims of plans to bomb the Chinese embassy.[9] Davud was sentenced to seven years in prison, Bajuk to three and a half years, while Jakobsen was acquitted of the terror charges.[9] All three were convicted for having produced explosives.[9]

The verdicts were upheld following appeals to the Borgarting Court of Appeal and finally the Supreme Court of Norway, with Davud's sentence being raised to eight years.[3][10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Utpekt som terrorsjef". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 29 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Norway Announces Three Arrests in Terrorist Plot". The New York Times. 8 July 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Terrordømte funnet skyldige i lagmannsretten" (in Norwegian). NRK. 20 September 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lia, Brynjar; Nesser, Petter (1 August 2010). "Lessons Learned from the July 2010 Norwegian Terrorist Plot". Combating Terrorism Center.
  5. ↑ Ocean, Kristen Boon; Aziz Z. Huq; Douglas C. Lovelace (2012). United States Approaches to Global Security Challenges. Oxford University Press. p. 565. ISBN 9780199915903.
  6. ↑ "- Slik planla de terror på norsk jord". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 13 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Omstridt moské i Sarpsborg" (in Norwegian). NRK. 12 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "Davud dømt til sju års fengsel" (in Norwegian). NRK. 30 January 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "Retten: Davud planla terror sammen med al-Qaida". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 30 January 2010.
  10. ↑ "Nederlag for terrorplanleggere i Høyesterett" (in Norwegian). NRK. 31 May 2013.
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