The suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting during an LGBTQ festival in Oslo has agreed to be held in pretrial custody for four weeks and will therefore not appear in court on Monday, a Norwegian court said.
Zaniar Matapour, a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, was arrested shortly after the predawn shooting in Oslo’s nightlife district and was held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism. Two people were killed and more than 20 were wounded in what the Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act.”
The motive is unknown and Matapour has refused to explain his actions to investigators. His lawyer, John Christian Elden, said that his client objects to having his statement recorded and videotaped unless police release the entire recording to the public “with no time delay so it won’t be censored or manipulated.” Recording interrogations is a standard police practice.
In Norway, pre-trial detention hearings are normally held every four weeks.
Matapour arrived in Norway with his family from a Kurdish part of Iran in the 1990s, according to Norwegian media.
The gunman opened fire at three locations, including outside the London Pub, a popular gay bar in downtown Oslo. Police investigators have said it is too early to say whether the attacker specifically targeted the LGBTQ community.
Police on Monday identified the two victims as Kåre Arvid Hesvik, born in 1962, and Jon Erik Isachsen, born in 1968.
A Pride parade scheduled for Saturday was canceled because of the shooting.
