The Norwegian Navy says questioning of the two marine commandoes involved in the Morocco affair is to begin today.

No doubts

Per Rostad, spokesman for Inspector General Rear Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen – the Navy’s head man – tells Aftenposten that Bruun-Hanssen has no reasons to doubt that the two officers have already given their own accounts.

There has also been speculation that the commandoes didn’t know what they were doing; something both Harald Stanghelle – Aftenposten’s political editor – and “Petter”, the codename for the ex policeman and intelligence operative who headed the operation, have difficulty in believing.

“We had a clear impression that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also wanted the children returned to Norway; both from the local signals we received and the dialogue we had with the ministry en route,” he tells TV2.

“Disappeared”

In a further development, Taieb Fassi Fihri, Morocco’s foreign minister, has claimed that the Norwegian Ambassador to Morocco – Bjørn Blokkhus – disappeared 24 hours after what Fihri calls the children’s “kidnapping”.

“I don’t know if he was involved in it or not, but he never returned. We received a note from the Norwegian authorities suggesting a new ambassador. There’s something that doesn’t quite add up. An ambassador must follow procedure on completion of his duties. He’s obliged to come and say goodbye to me,” Fihri told NRK at yesterday’s press conference.

Ragnhild Imerslund, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirms that Ambassador Blokkhus is now at a different embassy.

“There were several extremely serious and unpleasant threats made towards embassy staff, meaning that one had to decide whether to stay or not,” she says.

Both Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Imerslund continue to rebut claims by both Skah and Fihri that Norway acted illegally, or was involved.