Stockholm - The Norwegian man accused of carrying out a
shooting at a mosque near Oslo at the weekend will be held in
pre-trial detention for the maximum period of four weeks, a court
says, ruling in the prosecutors' favour.
The 21-year-old man denies the charges against him and had petitioned
the Oslo district court for his release during a closed-door hearing
on Monday.
"He has not admitted criminal charges," his lawyer Unni Fries told
reporters. "He has exercised the right not to explain himself."
A summary of the proceedings released by the court supported that
account.
Prosecutors had requested a maximum pre-trial detention period of
four weeks on charges of murder and terrorism, citing the ongoing
investigation.
They also cited fears that the suspect would tamper with evidence,
witnesses or possible accomplices.
The suspect was charged with murder after the body of a young woman,
identified as his 17-year-old stepsister, was found late Saturday in
his home in Baerum.
The suspect is accused of carrying out Saturday's shooting at the
Al-Noor Islamic Centre mosque in Baerum, west of Oslo. Several shots
were fired in the shooting, but no one was seriously injured.
Television images from the Oslo district court showed the suspect
with two black eyes and what appeared to be scratch marks on his face
and neck. He smiled at the cameras as he calmly sat down next to
Fries.
The suspect's injuries likely stemmed from Saturday's attack, when he
forced his way into the mosque but was overpowered by two members of
the mosque.
After the man entered the court room, Judge Sven Olav Solberg ordered
a closed-door hearing after considering a prosecution request.
The defence did not oppose an open court hearing, the court summary
said.
Hans Sverre Sjovold, head of the security service PST, told reporters
at PST headquarters in Oslo that authorities had received a tip-off
about the suspect a year ago. At the time, no further action was
considered necessary, he said.
Norwegian media outlets have reported that the suspect posted a
message praising mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New
Zealand, in March, a few hours before the mosque attack in Baerum.
He is also believed to have supported the man accused of fatally
shooting 22 people at a shopping centre in El Paso, Texas, earlier
this month.