The son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit is waiting for a higher court to rule on whether he can be released from custody to be with his ill mother, who has a serious lung disorder, following a lower court decision and an appeal on Monday.
Earlier Monday, a court in Oslo granted the release of Marius Borg Høiby.
But the public prosecutor’s office immediately lodged an appeal against the decision, which suspends the earlier ruling. Høiby must therefore remain in custody until a higher court has reviewed the case.
The police had previously opposed his release, but the court in Oslo took a different view. "Continuing his detention would be very stressful not only for Høiby, but also for his mother, given the already difficult situation they find themselves in," the newspaper Verdens Gang quoted the court as saying.
Høiby, 29, is on trial on rape charges, with a verdict to be announced in one week. The prosecution is seeking a sentence of seven years and seven months in prison, while the defence has called for an acquittal on the most serious charges – four counts of rape.
"Sitting in there while Mum is so ill is unbearable," Høiby said at the court hearing in Oslo, according to the Verdens Gang newspaper.
He said it was very hard not to be able to support his mother in her situation. In court, the Norwegian insisted that he would now "never do anything to make the situation worse."
Høiby: Every visit from Mum in prison could be the last
According to media reports, Høiby had previously been allowed to leave prison for a few hours on Monday to attend an information meeting on the crown princess’s state of health. According to the Norwegian Royal Court, Mette-Marit's condition has recently deteriorated drastically once again.
Due to what has been termed a “life-threatening chronic lung disease,” Mette-Marit has now been placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant, it was announced on Friday. Back in December, the royal family had already announced that the crown princess needed a new lung.
The 52-year-old suffers from the incurable condition pulmonary fibrosis. She now uses an oxygen machine in her daily life.
On Sunday, Mette-Marit had visited her eldest son in prison together with her husband Haakon. "Every Sunday we see each other could be the last time we see each other," Høiby reportedly said.
Høiby’s earlier application to the court was rejected
Høiby had already applied in May to be released from custody with an electronic tag – without success. At the time, the case went all the way to Norway’s highest court. The defence lawyers had justified the new application on the grounds of Mette-Marit’s changed state of health.
The crown princess’s son has been in custody since the beginning of February. He had repeatedly breached a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend, who had also testified as an alleged victim in the trial against him. Høiby denies that there is a risk of re-offending.
His ex-girlfriend does not seem to see it that way. Several people in Høiby’s circle have recently tried to persuade her client to have the restraining order lifted, the ex-girlfriend’s lawyer, Mette Yvonne Larsen, told the Aftenposten newspaper. “She has said that she wants to maintain the restraining order,” Larsen told the newspaper.
