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In mid-July, Marius Borg Høiby was released from prison to house arrest. He has been serving his detention at Skaugum, the royal residence of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, with electronic monitoring. His detention was set to end on Monday, but Oslo Police have today requested he be held in custody for four more weeks.
The police wrote in a press release today (translated from Norwegian), “The prosecution has concluded that the risk of recidivism as of today has not been sufficiently reduced to consider it appropriate to release Høiby.” A new hearing on Høiby’s possible release is set for this upcoming Monday, August 10.
“We are very surprised because the police have given clear signals that he will be released on Monday with a so-called reverse violence alarm,” Høiby’s defense attorney Petar Sekulic told Dagbladet (translated from Norwegian), referring to ongoing electronic monitoring. “Marius himself is very surprised after clear indications that he would be released. What has made them change their minds is unknown to us.”
Sekulic added, “We completely disagree that there is a risk of recurrence. We will have a dialogue with the police attorney throughout the day to clarify what happened.”
In June, Oslo District Court sentenced Høiby to four years in prison, finding him guilty of two counts of rape, assaulting a former girlfriend, and a number of other offenses. His team later filed for appeal; Høiby has consistently denied the most serious charges, including the rape convictions. His sentencing is not legally binding while his legal team appeals.
While living at Skaugum, “the Crown Prince and Princess wish to assist him in the phase he is currently in,” Palace communications manager Guri Varpe told NRK.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.