Norwegian teenager sentenced to 20 years for murder plans in England

For 19 months, a 19-year-old from Stavanger has been imprisoned in England for murder plans. Following tips from the Norwegian police, he was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield with two weapons in March of last year. In the summer, he was convicted of murder, but the sentence did not state how long he would be imprisoned. Today, the 19-year-old has been transported from prison to Woolwich Crown Court in London for sentencing. He is sitting in a glass cell in the courtroom. Three police officers sit behind him. About an hour and a half into the sentencing, the sentence is announced: 20 years in prison with a minimum term of 13 years. – I am sure that if the police had not been able to intervene, you would have done what you agreed to. This follows from the messages you wrote and your actions, said judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb during the sentencing today. The judge points out that they have taken into account the man's mental state and drug use, but still believes that this is not enough to free him from the sentence. – This was not an impulsive act. You had repeated opportunities to withdraw, she says. The judge also says that she believes it is unlikely that the man will commit criminal acts in the future, and points out that he has no history of violence. – You participated voluntarily, rather than by force. But you were more vulnerable than an adult, she says. The man risked life imprisonment. In England, this is 45 years. Fighting for transfer to Norway On Wednesday, March 19th of last year, the 19-year-old was arrested by British counter-terrorism police. Since then, his family has fought for a transfer to Norway. – We will take the sentence to intelligence. Now we will thoroughly review it with the client before we take any further action, said lawyer Farid Bouras of Elden Advokatfirma. He assists the 19-year-old along with the lawyers John Christian Elden and Saqib Razaq of Elden Advokatfirma. – Twenty years is a very harsh sentence for a boy who was 18 years old when he was arrested. The other youths convicted in the same case in Norway received mainly youth sentences and community sentences. We will assess the sentence calmly with him, his family, and his British lawyers, said lawyer Saqib Razaq. – The most important thing for us now is to get him home. We will work for a sentence transfer to Norway as quickly as possible. Whatever we conclude about the sentence, the goal is clear: He should serve his time in Norway, near the family, in a system built to return young people to society, said lawyer Farid Bouras. Increasing chances for transfer to Norway Law professor Jo Stigen at the University of Oslo says the 20-year sentence was somewhat milder than feared. – I thought in advance that if there were a very harsh sentence of 30–40 years, there would be little chances for a transfer to Norway. Then it would not be possible to serve a sentence in Norway. Now there is less distance between the sentence and what is possible and serving in Norway, the professor points out. He points to the minimum term of 13 years, among other things. – The chances of a transfer to Norway increase when there is not a harsher sentence, says Stigen. Assistants received youth sentences in Norway In court on Friday, the British defense lawyer Paul Hynes placed great emphasis on the 19-year-old's young age and pointed out that he was in a vulnerable situation. Hynes brought up that the 19-year-old has used his time in custody well, and studied, among other things. – Convict him for what he actually did, not for what one imagines he could have done, said Hynes in court today. He also pointed to the sentence given in the Norwegian court: Two teenagers were sentenced in September for recruiting and supporting the 19-year-old before he went to England. They were sentenced to one year and seven months and one year of youth sentence in the South Rogaland district court. Still unclear about Norwegian imprisonment – N.N. (anonymized by NRK) acted obviously on behalf of someone in the "Foxtrot network," says Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism police in London, in connection with the sentencing. Flanagan points out that Foxtrot is sanctioned by both the United Kingdom and the United States. The reason is that Foxtrot has been behind the planning of acts of violence against Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime. – The target of this specific attack has never been identified, and we found no evidence of any direct link to Iran in this case, she specifies. Since the arrest, the 19-year-old's family has fought to have the case transferred to Norway. To NRK, his mother has previously called it a lonely fight. – It is very, very difficult for us to understand that he, who belongs to the Norwegian case, is not brought home and investigated and prosecuted in Norway by the police, she said.