It is now clear: Marius Borg Høiby is being detained. His lawyer Øyvind Bratlien writes to NRK that he will appeal the decision, but also that: "One week is much better than two".
Two weeks of detention was what the police asked the court for, in order to investigate new information about a second suspected rape, which emerged on Tuesday night, after he was arrested on suspicion of another rape.
The case concerns sexual intercourse without consent with a woman who was not able to resist the act. This means that we are now investigating two rapes, says Andreas Kruszewski, prosecutor with the police.
The Crown Prince: Serious Allegations
The detention hearing was held behind closed doors, and the police's evidence was, according to Bratlien, thin.
"Both allegations are catastrophic misjudgments", he wrote in an SMS to NRK during the day, and after the court's decision, he adds:
"The court should have been tougher, but (the decision) shows that the court is critical of what has been presented. We see it as a promising sign".
The media turnout was enormous at the court on Wednesday. Journalists from Norway and many other countries waited a long time for news about the detention, the decision came only seven hours after the deliberations began.
Høiby was arrested late on Monday, suspected of rape. According to reports, he had sexual intercourse with a woman in her 20s without her being able to resist in March. The Crown Princess's son denies both allegations of rape, according to his defender Bratlien.
Crown Prince Haakon, stepfather to Marius Borg Høiby, tells NRK that the allegations are serious but does not comment on the question of guilt.
The legal process must have its course, he says.
Video Find
According to reports to Norwegian TV2, it was a video find on Høiby's previously seized mobile phone that led to the rape investigation being initiated. The videos are said to show the rape in question, but according to the defense, the film material proves Høiby's innocence.
The investigation into the latest suspicions began on November 6, but there has been a storm surrounding Marius Borg Høiby since he was arrested in August, suspected of assaulting a woman he had a relationship with.
When Høiby was arrested on Monday, it was the third time this autumn. The police also conducted a search of Høiby's home at the Crown Prince's farm Skaugum outside Oslo, where several seizures were made, according to media reports.
