An Oslo criminal court yesterday rejected an appeal for a new hearing lodged by one of the two Israelis held in connection with the murder of a Moroccan citizen, Ahmed Boushoucki. The two Israelis were arrested in the home of Israeli diplomat Yigal Eyal hours after Boushicki was fatally shot July 21 in the Norwegian resort city of Lillehammer. The two men, whose identity is still kept secret, have been formally charged with murder and espionage.
Police officials said here today that they have not received any new request from Israeli legal representative, Meir Rosenne, to meet with the two men. Norway has already rejected three such requests from Rosenne who heads the legal division of the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
Norwegian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Torleiv Anda, said today that any such Israeli request “is a matter for the courts to decide.” In an interview with the Oslo newspaper, “Arbeiderbladet,” Anda said “In such a grave and complicated matter it is nonetheless clear that court officials will maintain close contact with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
The Norwegian aide recalled that under normal circumstances and in ordinary criminal cases, it is customary for Embassy representatives to be granted access to aliens held in Norwegian jails. He stressed, however, that “the Lillehammer case is of quite a different nature.”
Two leading criminal lawyers in Oslo today condemned the government for refusing Rosenne permission to meet the arrested Israelis. In a joint statements, lawyers Wulf Nordhus and Arne Hestines claimed that Norwegian authorities have acted in violation of established principles of international law. (According to rumors circulating in Oslo, Rosenne secretly met the two men last week.) The Norwegian Press Association had earlier criticized the government for not providing the public with sufficient information on the Lillehammer slaying.
Meanwhile, Palestinian organizations in Norway will not try for the moment to avenge the death of Boushicki, according to a Norwegian security official quoted in today’s “Extrabladett.” The official said that according to his sources the groups intend to capitalize on the sympathy growing for them as a result of the slaying. The official added, however, that the stringent security measures taken to protect Israeli and Jewish institutions in Norway would remain in force.
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