August M
Norway’s royal family has been hit by another serious setback after Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, was arrested just one day before his long-awaited criminal trial was due to begin.
Police are now seeking to keep him in custody as the Oslo District Court prepares to rule on his detention, reports DR News’ live blog.
Arrest confirmed
Marius Borg Høiby was arrested late on Sunday evening, his defence lawyer Ellen Holager Andenæs confirmed to NRK.
He has been charged with violence, threats involving a knife and breach of a restraining order, Norwegian media reported.
The arrest comes a day before the opening of a wide-ranging criminal case against him.
Police have asked the court to place him in pre-trial detention.
Custody request
According to Oslo police, prosecutors are seeking four weeks of custody.
– Police have requested four weeks of pre-trial detention due to the risk of repeat offending, said Andreas Kruszewski, a lawyer with the Oslo police district.
The Oslo District Court is scheduled to decide the matter later on Monday.
court decision pending
NRK reported that the detention issue will be handled as a so-called administrative ruling. This means a judge will decide whether Høiby should be remanded in custody without any of the parties, or Høiby himself, appearing in court.
The decision is expected at around 3 p.m. local time.
Serious allegations
Høiby is facing a large number of charges. Among the most serious are four counts of rape, which prosecutors say involved women who were asleep at the time of the alleged assaults.
He is also charged with violence against a former girlfriend. According to the prosecution, the maximum possible sentence is 10 years in prison.
In total, Høiby is charged with 38 offences, a figure that has grown as the investigation progressed.
Previous arrests
Norwegian TV2 reported that Høiby has previously been arrested three times. On each occasion, he was released shortly afterwards.
His defence lawyers have not said whether he will oppose the request for pre-trial detention.
Trial about to begin
The criminal trial is scheduled to run for seven weeks, from February 3 to March 19. Høiby has denied guilt in relation to the most serious allegations.
Sources: DR News, NRK, TV2
