The 2022 Oslo Pride Attack

Shortly after midnight on June 25, 2022, gunfire struck people outside the London Pub and nearby venues in central Oslo. Two people were killed and nine were shot, while many others were injured or traumatized in the chaos. Norwegian authorities treated the violence as terrorism directed at the LGBTQ+ community.

The victims and the target

The attack occurred on the eve of Oslo Pride. Norway's government later described it as a brutal attack on queer people and on the country's democratic values. The Pride parade scheduled for later that day was cancelled on police advice because authorities could not guarantee security.

Crime by Region does not reproduce tactical or weapons detail from the attack. The relevant public record is the human toll, the targeting of an LGBTQ+ gathering place, and the criminal accountability that followed.

Zaniar Matapour's prosecution

Zaniar Matapour was arrested at the scene after bystanders restrained him. In July 2024, Oslo District Court convicted him of murder and aggravated terrorism. The court imposed a 30-year sentence, the most severe term available under Norway's modern terrorism provisions, with the possibility of continued detention if legal conditions are met.

The trial also examined Matapour's mental health. The court ultimately found him criminally responsible. His defense had argued for acquittal on responsibility and entrapment-related grounds, but those arguments did not prevent conviction.

The later case against Arfan Bhatti

Investigators also pursued Arfan Bhatti, who was in Pakistan when the attack occurred. He was extradited to Norway in 2024 and prosecuted for complicity in aggravated terrorism. On January 16, 2026, a Norwegian court convicted Bhatti of orchestrating the attack and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

Bhatti pleaded not guilty and retained the right to appeal. Contemporary Norwegian reporting said he appealed the judgment immediately. His conviction therefore remains a trial-court judgment subject to appellate review; this page does not present an unresolved appeal as if it had already been finally decided.

The 25 June review

An independent evaluation of police and security-service handling was delivered in June 2023. Norway's Justice Ministry said the report found that it was possible the attack could have been prevented if intelligence had been handled differently. The government ordered immediate follow-up.

That institutional finding concerns prevention and agency performance. It is distinct from the criminal responsibility established in the cases against Matapour and Bhatti.

Timeline

1. June 25, 2022
   Attack in central Oslo

   Two people are killed and multiple others are wounded shortly before the planned Pride parade.

2. June 8, 2023
   Independent evaluation released

   Norwegian authorities acknowledge findings that the attack might have been preventable and order follow-up measures.

3. July 4, 2024
   Matapour convicted

   Oslo District Court convicts Zaniar Matapour of murder and aggravated terrorism and sentences him to 30 years.

4. 2024
   Bhatti extradited

   Arfan Bhatti is returned from Pakistan to Norway to face prosecution.

5. January 16, 2026
   Bhatti convicted

   A Norwegian court finds him guilty of complicity in aggravated terrorism and imposes a 30-year sentence; he appeals.

Current status

The core attack is solved and adjudicated as to the identified gunman, Zaniar Matapour. Arfan Bhatti was also convicted in January 2026 of orchestrating the attack, but his judgment was subject to appeal when last reviewed. No appeal outcome located for this update supersedes that January 2026 status.