Appeal court blocks release of Marius Borg Hoiby, citing risk of reoffending, as his mother awaits lung transplant.
OSLO: A Norwegian appeal court on Wednesday overturned a lower court’s decision to release the son of ailing Crown Princess Mette-Marit ahead of the June 15 verdict on 40 charges against him including rape and assault.
A judge had on Monday agreed to 29-year-old Marius Borg Hoiby’s request to be released from custody to be with his 52-year-old mother, whose health recently worsened and was placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant.
She suffers from a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease that causes breathing difficulties.
Hoiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, stood trial from February 3 to March 19 and has been in custody since February 1.
He faces 40 charges, including the rape of four women, that carry a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.
The prosecution had appealed Monday’s decision granting his release, and Hoiby remained in custody pending the latest hearing.
The Oslo appeals court ruled there was “still a strong likelihood that Hoiby would commit new crimes if he is released”.
Questioned by AFP, Hoiby’s lawyers said they were “extremely disappointed”.
They are considering an appeal to the Supreme Court, one lawyer, Petar Sekulic, said.
Prosecutors have sought a prison sentence of seven years and seven months against Hoiby, who does not formally belong to the royal household and who has denied the most serious charges.
The scandal has tainted the monarchy’s image and comes on top of revelations of Mette-Marit’s close friendship and correspondence with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014.
