Three teens admit guilt in Bergen May 17 assault

Three boys charged with aggravated assault after attacking a russ celebrant in Bergen on Norway’s Constitution Day have admitted criminal guilt, police prosecutor Linn Mari Søfteland confirmed to NRK.

The assault, captured on video and widely shared on social media, showed four youths beating and kicking a russ in the city centre. Police questioned the three charged, the victim, and two witnesses before formally charging the trio on 1 June; a fourth boy remains under suspicion.

In its submission to the public prosecutor, police state that the three admit guilt and recommend summary punishment. Søfteland also proposes dropping the case against the fourth boy.

Defence lawyers for two of the accused told Dagbladet in June that their clients accept responsibility. “He has laid himself completely flat and says he went too far,” said Alexander Gonzalo Sele. Tiril Røkke, representing another defendant, said her client “admits subjecting the victim to violence and regrets that it went too far.”