Updated
Updated · Royal Central · Jun 11
Norway Appeal Court Keeps Marius Borg Høiby Jailed on 40 Charges Until Verdict
Updated
Updated · Royal Central · Jun 11

Norway Appeal Court Keeps Marius Borg Høiby Jailed on 40 Charges Until Verdict

3 articles · Updated · Royal Central · Jun 11

Summary

  • Borgarting Court of Appeal on Wednesday reversed a district court order that would have freed 29-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, keeping him in custody until judges deliver a verdict next week.
  • Judges said the risk of reoffending had not materially changed since a May ruling and cited concern he could contact a former girlfriend central to part of the prosecution case.
  • Monday's lower-court decision had found continued detention "disproportionately intrusive," noting Høiby had stayed drug-free in prison and arguing he should be allowed to support Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
  • Høiby faces 40 charges, including four rape counts, while prosecutors are seeking 7 years and 7 months in prison; he denies the rape allegations but has admitted some lesser drug and traffic offences.
  • The custody fight has unfolded as Mette-Marit, 52, was placed on a lung-transplant waiting list last week after her pulmonary fibrosis worsened, intensifying scrutiny on a case already shadowing Norway's royal household.

Insights

With his mother's health and reputation collapsing, what will Høiby's verdict mean for the Norwegian monarchy's future?
Is denying a son's plea to support his gravely ill mother a sign of equal justice or judicial cruelty?