Alleged Foxtrot network 'recruiter' charged with organizing grenade attack on restaurant in Norway

The charges against 'Joker'

Ali Namdar, a 21-year-old alleged influential member of the Foxtrot criminal network known by the alias Joker, has been charged with organizing a grenade attack on a sushi restaurant in Strømmen, about 20 km east of Oslo. The report comes from The National , citing police prosecutor Anja Stenersen, who told the Norwegian TV channel TV 2: 'We believe he was the organizer and the one who ordered the attack.'

The teenage perpetrator and recruitment via Signal

A teenager threw the grenade into the establishment on October 22 last year; he is now 16 and in court admitted guilt for throwing the grenade but denies involvement in organized crime. According to the investigation, a Signal user under the name Joker contacted a 15-year-old boy and persuaded him to carry out the attack, reassuring him with the words 'bro, don't worry, the grenade won't make a big explosion.' Investigators concluded that it was Namdar hiding behind this alias, based on several similar cases they managed to link to him. The prosecutor added that at the time of his arrest Namdar was also charged with other serious crimes: a separate grenade attack, shooting at a house, and kidnapping. Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service is looking into whether he recruited children and young people to carry out attacks.

Detention in Morocco and the Swedish cases

Namdar was recently detained in Morocco at the request of the Swedish authorities after being placed on Europe's list of most wanted suspects, and is now awaiting extradition. In his native Sweden he is wanted in 18 cases, including attempted murder. Among them is the organization of an attempt on the life of the Iranian dissident Arvin Khoshnood: Khoshnood himself told The National how, in September last year, a 17-year-old teenager with a knife came to his home.

Context: the Foxtrot network under sanctions

The Foxtrot network and its founder, the Kurd Rawa Majid, have been added to the US and UK sanctions lists for attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets on behalf of Iran using teenagers recruited via social media. According to The National, Majid is believed to enjoy Iran's protection, to which his family fled from Iraqi Kurdistan after Saddam Hussein's war against the Kurds. The wave of violence linked to the network has led to Sweden having one of the highest murder rates in Europe. Arrests of network figures continue: in May, the network's alleged 'number two', Mohammadh Mohdhi, was arrested in Tunisia on suspicion of murder, and in January, 21-year-old Ali Shehabwas detained in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, accused of recruiting children to kill rivals; according to the publication, he is involved in organizing an assassination attempt for preparing which the Norwegian Johannes Natland was convicted.

Show caption: Ali Namdar is suspected of the attempted murder of Iranian d…