The Norwegian Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday demanded a 21-year prison sentence extendable against the right-wing extremist who opened fire last year in a mosque near Oslo after killing his half-sister of Asian origin.
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Philip Manshaus, 22, must answer to justice for " homicide " and " terrorist act ". Dressed in a bulletproof vest and a helmet equipped with a camera, he opened fire on August 10, 2019 at the Al-Noor Islamic Center in Baerum, without causing any serious injuries, before being overpowered by faithful. The police then found the body of his adopted half-sister, of Chinese origin, killed by four bullets at their home.
" He appears to be dangerous over a very long time ," said prosecutor Johan Øverberg on the last day of the trial in the court in Asker og Baerum, west of Oslo. With a minimum of 14 years, the special prison sentence (“ forvaring ”) required on Wednesday is a sentence that can be extended indefinitely, as long as the convicted person is found to be dangerous. Life does not exist in Norway.
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In his closing argument, Mr Øverberg argued that the murder of the 17-year-old half-sister, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, was a " planned execution " and had " racist motivations ". In the mosque, where only three worshipers were preparing for the Eid festival, Manshaus " wanted to kill as many Muslims as possible, " added the prosecutor, stressing that the accused had not expressed any remorse. For his part, the right-wing extremist acknowledges the facts but rejects the charges, claiming to have acted by " state of necessity ", a legal concept which authorizes illegal acts under exceptional conditions, namely, according to him, for ensuring the " survival of the white race ".
He says he was inspired by the attack on Christchurch in New Zealand in March 2019, in which Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people while shooting at two mosques. Tarrant himself signed up straight with another Norwegian extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, who had killed 77 people in a bomb attack and a shootout against young Labor workers on July 22, 2011.
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