Norway bans local chapter of motorcycle club Satudarah and calls it a criminal association

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway’s highest court on Wednesday called the Norwegian arm of Dutch motorcycle club Satudarah a criminal association and banned the group, saying it was necessary to prevent serious crime.

The Supreme Court said participants in the club “repeatedly committed serious offenses against someone’s life, health and freedom,” and that their actions were “apt to cause fear in the population.”

The court added that although the Satudarah MC describes itself as a motorcycle club and is open to ethnic minorities, participants didn’t need to have a motorcycle to join.

“Nor does the club aim to promote multi-ethnic interests,” it wrote.

There are two Satudarah chapters in Norway. The Supreme Court also said that it describes “itself as a so-called 1% club – a term normally used for motorcycle clubs that live on the side of society’s laws and rules.”

Satudarah set foot in Norway in 2014, according to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. In 2023 police asked courts to ban Satudarah because of its criminal activities.

In 2015, Germany banned the club, which originated in the Netherlands but has chapters in more than half a dozen countries in Europe and Asia. The Netherlands eventually banned it. In neighboring Denmark, the local chapter dissolved itself in May 2023 and became Comanches MC.