The following message just came in from Fjordman, who adds that he intends to keep a low profile in the near future.

I am shocked by the hostile treatment I received at the hands of the police.

Lars Hedegaard heard my story and commented that he had never known of any witness who has been treated in this manner in any Western country, except for totalitarian societies such as the Third Reich.

My lawyer, who is experienced and has seen many tough cases before, did not expect anything like this to happen. He assumed this would be relatively easy, and even suggested that I might get by without a lawyer. I insisted on having one present just in case, which most likely helped a little bit. Things would have been even worse had that not been the case. My lawyer later said that in my case they operated at best at the very fringes of what could be considered legal.

I was never accused of doing anything criminal, obviously because I had nothing to do with the terror attacks and they know this. Yet without the slightest hint of proof of any lawbreaking, I was treated as a murder suspect.

To my total surprise I had to go to my flat, where for several hours half a dozen police officers went through all of my DVDs, searched through my old printed travel photographs from years back, searched through all of my (many) books, checked my kitchen equipment, went through all of my clothes, and confiscated a suitcase that contained nothing more than clothes and some books. They also confiscated several digital devices, including my camera and my laptop. It is quite clear that they wanted information about non-violent Islam-critical networks in Europe that they suspected might be contained in my PC, even though they denied this to me.

Please remember that the police and the Police Security Service (PST) apparently had no clue who I was until I literally knocked on their door of my own free will, even though I knew full well that I would have to give up my anonymity after doing so. I had very little information about Breivik since I have never met him, something which he himself has admitted, yet I still handed over what little information I had. I also answered their questions honestly, even though, technically speaking, I did not have to do so.

If you believe the mass media, the police were still not sure that I really was Fjordman until a couple of hours after I had turned up at the police station. As soon as they understood that this was indeed the case, they rushed through a quick decision to search my flat and confiscate my computer equipment immediately. They must have realized at this point that I had nothing at all to do with the terror attacks.

I personally suspect that this was mainly a political decision.

From Gates of Vienna Verbatim:

Our regular readers know the writings of Fjordman, and are familiar with what has happened to him in the two weeks since Anders Behring Breivik murdered seventy-six people in Oslo and on the island of Utøya.

Our thousands of new readers also know who Fjordman is — or at least they know the media construct labeled “Fjordman”, which has little or nothing to do with the reality of the man who chose that pseudonym when writing about the ongoing destruction of European civilization.

Yesterday, after receiving legal advice, Fjordman chose to visit the police, reveal his identity, and answer any questions they posed. Contrary to media reports, the police did not “discover” him.

For the record: The Norwegian authorities had no idea who Fjordman was until he decided to reveal himself, of his own free will.

After his discussions with the police, he gave an interview to a media outlet, and then retired once again from public view.

An account of the police interview was published here. Then, later on this morning, the interview with Fjordman was published at VG (English version here). The same information was later published in Denmark. Almost immediately his real name was added to his Wikipedia entry, which had already been in existence for a number of years.

It’s no surprise to learn that he has gone into hiding — we’ve all seen what the “anti-fascists” do to people who hold opinions like ours, and Fjordman has to be one of their high-priority targets.

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Fjordman began posting essays at Gates of Vienna in the spring of 2006. I first met him in person about a year later during my trip to Copenhagen. We have encountered each other again over the years during some of my visits to Europe. In the process we became good friends, and remained in correspondence until he made his momentous decision the other day to visit the police.

Now his “brand” has been forcibly retired. But this doesn’t mean that Fjordman’s work will come to an end. As his long-time readers know, Fjordman is completely dedicated to the cause of reclaiming and upholding European civilization — not through murder and destruction, as his supposed admirer Anders Behring Breivik chose to do, but rather by honest discussion and legitimate peaceful action through the political process.

This is what we all believe in here at Gates of Vienna. Our goal is to be outspoken enough to prevent what must otherwise surely come. If we who love our civilization and culture do not stand up now, then certain violence awaits us. Our enemies have declared this clearly over and over again, and we would be fools to disregard their stated intentions. By utilizing our current — and precarious — right to free speech, and by raising public awareness of what is being planned, we hope to avert the violence and degradation that the Islamization of the West will inevitably entail.

For the record: Fjordman is the best of us. He is not just a brilliant scholar and a fine writer, but also the most decent, gentle, and humane person I have ever met. He is a man of utmost integrity, and it shines through in his dealings with others as well as in the millions of words he has written.

His forced resignation from his position as “Fjordman” does not spell the end of his work.

Hat tips: Steen, Henrik and KGS.