Norway Final in the Høiby trial: now it's the turn of the defense lawyers
Rape, abuse, drugs: For almost seven weeks, dozens of accusations against the eldest son of the Norwegian crown princess were heard in Oslo. The trial is expected to come to an end on Thursday with the plea of Marius Borg Høiby's defense lawyers.
19.03.2026, 05:35
SDA
Their closing statements are eagerly awaited. On Wednesday, the public prosecutor's office demanded a long prison sentence for the 29-year-old defendant: Accordingly, Høiby should be behind bars for seven years and seven months. The time he has already spent in custody - 63 days so far according to the public prosecutor's office - is to be deducted from the sentence.
40 charges against Høiby
The prosecution also demanded a two-year ban on contact with an ex-girlfriend, whom Norwegian media call the "Frogner woman" after the Oslo district of Frogner. An incident in her apartment set the investigation against Mette-Marit's son in motion in August 2024. She is the subject of 20 of the 40 charges. The woman and another ex-girlfriend accuse Høiby of domestic violence, among other things.
He is also charged with four counts of rape under Norwegian law, one of which involves penile penetration. The public prosecutor is convinced that Høiby raped the women while they were asleep. He is also alleged to have filmed them during the alleged acts without their knowledge. The Norwegian is also accused of several drug and traffic offenses.
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø is demanding a conviction on 39 charges. According to Henriksbø, Høiby should only be acquitted of one count of violating a no-contact order. In this case, he is said to have inadvertently called the "Frogner woman" despite the ban.
All of the alleged victims testified at the trial. Their lawyers demanded compensation totaling 1.95 million Norwegian kroner (around 177,000 euros) on Wednesday.
