A court in Oslo has ruled against efforts by lawyers for Marius Borg Høiby to halt sales of a new book about his criminal involvement with cocaine. Høiby, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and former partner Morten Borg, failed to get the book banned and now faces the release of yet another book he won’t like either.
Norwegians’ interest in what many view as the country’s biggest royal scandal ever clearly remains high. While publishing firm Aschehoug has already launched new editions of the book Hvite striper, sorte får (White stripes, black sheep), another book about Høiby’s long record of violence, drug use and bad behaviour is selling briskly after its release was moved forward. It raises the question of why the 28-year-old Høiby wasn’t stopped long before he was finally arrested 15 months ago after trashing a girlfriend’s apartment while high on drugs.
The first book sparked controversy and landed in court, with Høiby and his lawyers citing errors in its original text and claiming it invaded his privacy. They also claimed Høiby, who has no royal title, is a private person who only became a member of the royal family when his single mother, the former Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, married Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon when Høiby was a toddler. The errors, meanwhile, were corrected and both the authors and their publisher stood by their work.
The Oslo County Court ended up ruling that Høiby was a private person, but noted that his ties to the royal family and the charges he faces regarding contact with criminals make his case important for the public: “There will, under these circumstances, be more room for reporting on Høiby and on events around him that are relevant.”
The court decided that the book therefore was subject to “expanded” freedom of expression. Publisher Mads Nygaard, chief executive of Aschehoug, called the court ruling “an important decision, not just for this case, but for freedom of expression in Norway.” Several other editors and publishers in Norway had said the case was important, with Anders Heger of Cappelen Damm saying it would have been “a scandal” if the book had been banned.
Høiby and his lawyers were disappointed and pondering an appeal. Høiby was also ordered to pay court costs, which amounted NOK 530,500, a large amount for a young man who has no job or visible source of income. His stepfather, Crown Prince Haakon, recently told reporters that he was not involved in the case and not responsible for Høiby’s lawyers’ legal fees. The crown prince, who coincidentally was scheduled to address Norway’s national editors’ association while his stepson was in court, said he thought it was important that “some ethical reflections” were being made around the book.
Another new book about Høiby is also raising objections from his lawyers, who claim it can weaken his right to a fair trail. The book, published by Bonnier Forlag and written by Kjersti Kvam, tells the story of how the editor of magazine Se og Hør and its journalists had been following Høiby for years and revealing his various exploits both in Norway and abroad.
They question why Høiby, who’s been indicted on 32 counts including rape, partner abuse, drug use and vandalism, wasn’t stopped long before he ended up being arrested three times late last year. Some of the charges against him involve crimes committed between his arrests, which came a year after he’d received a formal warning from Oslo police assigned to its organized crime unit. His trial is due to begin in early February and run over several weeks, and he hasn’t been held in police custody since last last year.
The new book, entitled Ute av kontroll (Out of control), traces how the journalists had accumulated a large base of source material, audio recordings and internal documents related to Høiby’s lifestyle over many years. “The story is about what has actually happened,” claims Bonnier, calling it “a disturbing and revealing story” of power, privilege, responsibility and what happens when someone goes out of control. It also questions “a system that didn’t manage” to address Høiby’s behaviour and the security risks it posed for Norway’s royal family. Questions have also risen over whether Høiby was instead protected by members of the royal family or staff at the Royal Palace, and whether the press knowingly withheld reports of Høiby’s earlier offenses.
There’s no question the case around Høiby has attracted massive public attention, also from outside Norway. Nearly 20 international media outlets applied for press accreditation to cover his trial in February, along with 24 from Norway, involving a total of nearly 190 people. Høiby faces as much as 16 years in prison if found guilty on all the charges against him.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
