Five of the NOKAS suspects can be sent into preventative custody at Ila, a form of sentencing generally reserved for murderers and sex offenders. Such a sentence can be extended if the convict is considered a menace and become in effect a life sentence.
Ila staff believe the NOKAS crew constitutes a completely different type of organized criminal, and fear facing threats against them and their families, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports.
"The NOKAS defendants pose a completely new challenge. They have a network. They may have money outside waiting for them. They may have the need and resources to break out and are willing to go far to do so," Ila employee representative Odd Arne Brynjulfsen told NRK.
Several Ila employees have now asked to work without name badges and they are considering refusing to sign reports about prisoners in preventative custody.
"We have taken on this job and all its demands but at the same time we are not going to risk our lives," Brynjulfsen told NRK.
