The stepson of Norway's Crown Prince Haakon has been found guilty of two counts of rape as well as domestic violence and other crimes and is sentenced to four years in prison, an Oslo court ruled on Monday.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, who joined the royal family when his mother Mette-Marit married Haakon in 2001, was acquitted on two other counts of rape.
He had pleaded not guilty to the most severe accusations against him, including those of rape, while admitting to some lesser ones, and can appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors had asked that Høiby should be sentenced to seven years and seven months of prison.
The seven-week trial gripped the Nordic country, detailing Hoiby's drug addiction, self-made videos of sexual encounters and more than 800 electronic messages entered into evidence. One alleged rape took place in the basement of the crown prince's family home, the court heard.
Interest in the case was boosted by the contrast between the picture-perfect royal family and Høiby's alleged actions as heard in court, said Ketil Raknes, an associate professor in political communication at the Kristiania University of Applied Sciences.
The case, alongside other crises, has contributed to a decline in the popularity of the royal family.
It coincided with Crown Princess Mette-Marit's apology for "poor judgment" in maintaining contact with the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted in 2008.
A Norstat survey out on 21 February- during the trial showed a fall in the number of Norwegians favouring keeping the monarchy to a record low of 60%, from 70% in January, and a rise to 27% from 19% in those wanting a different system of governance.
In May, the royal family recovered somewhat in popularity, with 64% polled by Norstat supporting the monarchy and 23% wanting a different system of governance.
"It was ... a perfect crisis for the royal family because they had two crises at the same time. And they had a lot of (criticism) for the way they handled the Epstein files," Raknes said.
The verdict was delivered amid difficult personal circumstances for Mette-Marit, Høiby's mother, who this month was placed on the national lung transplant list as her health has severely deteriorated.
She suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that makes it increasingly difficult to breathe. Without a transplant, she has around a year left to live, her doctors have said.
That is somewhat changing people's perceptions ahead of the verdict, Raknes said.
"The coverage is much more sober," he said. "People are seeing: 'OK, this is a family who's really struggling and this is not the time for ... playing ... the moral card as high as we maybe have done earlier in this case'."
Iran’s army said it targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait with drone attacks. Tehran said the operations were carried out in retal...
Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have elevated their relations to an allied partnership level with the signing of a new treaty during President Ilham Aliyevâ...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 31st of July, covering the latest developments....
French DJ and electropop musician Kavinsky, whose atmospheric sound shaped a generation of electronic music fans, has died at the age of 50, French authorities said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further military action if the groups launched new attacks against the kingdom.
The U.S. military said it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the strikes as a "powerful response" to Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
A fire involving two gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port has prompted conflicting reports over whether the incident was caused by a drone strike or an onboard technical fault. Egyptian authorities said there were no casualties.
Thousands of migrants have crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, overwhelming border security and prompting local authorities to call for a national emergency and military deployment.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 31st of July, covering the latest developments.
At least 18 coal miners have been killed and 14 others remain trapped after a powerful methane gas explosion caused part of a mining complex to collapse in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Thursday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced what he described as a "historic" agreement to end the war in Gaza, saying his Board of Peace had secured a deal for the phased disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in the enclave.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have welcomed Jordan's proposal to convene a meeting of Arab and Islamic countries to address the worsening situation in Palestinian territories, particularly in East Jerusalem.
UEFA and its 55 member associations have unanimously voted to boycott all FIFA competitions if the world governing body proceeds with plans to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors, escalating a growing dispute over the future governance of global football.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment