Two men in their 40s remanded in custody in Bergen on suspicion of delivering weapons to Hamas
Two men living in the Bergen area have been remanded in custody for four weeks, suspected of having participated in the handover of weapons to Hamas in Western Europe last summer.
Two terror suspects remanded in custody in Bergen following alleged weapons delivery to Hamas
Two men in their 40s were remanded in custody for four weeks on Friday by Hordaland district court in Bergen, charged with having participated in the delivery of weapons to Hamas. This was confirmed by prosecutor Marianne Aune, according to vg.no.
The Norwegian Police Security and Intelligence Service (PST) suspects that the weapons were intended for an attack against Jewish targets in Europe. The delivery is said to have taken place in another Western European country in summer 2024. PST has declined to disclose which country.
The court granted PST full support for its request for remand in custody. The two men are to be held in solitary confinement for the first two weeks of their detention, according to Aune.
The men were arrested without incident at two separate locations in the Bergen area on Thursday, following a coordinated police operation in which various resources were deployed. This was stated by communications adviser Eirik Veum to VG.
"PST has today arrested two people living in the Bergen area. They are charged with breaching section 136a of the Penal Code. This involves having participated in, contributed financially to, or provided material support to a terrorist organisation," said Veum.
PST emphasises that the threat level in Norway has not been raised as a result of the arrests.
Jørgen Riple, defence lawyer for one of the suspects, confirmed on Thursday that his client had been questioned by PST for several hours.
"He answered all the police's questions. He does not admit guilt and will request to be released during the remand hearing tomorrow," Riple told VG.
The case is part of a broader pattern of European police operations linked to weapons deliveries to Hamas in recent months, reports Bergens Tidende. Since October last year, several people have been arrested in Germany and other European countries at the request of German authorities. All are charged with participation in a terrorist organisation and with working to procure weapons for Hamas.
Hamas led the terror attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which over 1,200 people were killed. The group has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, and is classified as a terrorist organisation by the EU and the USA.