A Norwegian court on Friday found 48-year-old Arfan Bhatti guilty of orchestrating the deadly 2022 terrorist attack against Oslo’s LGBTIQA+ community. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The attack was carried out by lone gun man Zaniar Matapour who was born in Iran but moved to Norway. On the eve of Oslo’s Pride celebrations in 2022 he opened fire on the London Pub – the centre of the city’s LGBTIQA+ community, and a nearby bar.
Two people were killed and eight others suffered injuries from the bullets, dozens more were injured in the chaos that ensued after the shooting. In 2024 Matapur was convicted of murder and terrorism offences and sent to 30 years behind bars – the highest sentence available.
Bhatti has now been found guilty of organising the attack, even though he was in Pakistan at the time of the shooting. He was extradited to Norway in 2024 and put on trial. His lawyers have indicated that he will be appealing the verdict.
Bhatti was born and raised in Oslo, his parent were immigrants from Pakistan. He spent some of his childhood in Pakistan, and returned to live there for several periods as an adult. He has a long history of criminal offences in Norway and has previously been imprisoned for terrorism related offences.
