A court in Oslo has found 29-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, guilty of two counts of rape and sentenced him to four years in prison, according to NRK.

Marius Høiby holds no royal title and carries out no official duties on behalf of the royal household. However, he has remained one of the most prominent figures associated with the Norwegian royal family since his mother, Mette-Marit, married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001.

 

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In total, Høiby faced around 40 charges. These included rape, domestic violence, threats, drug possession, traffic offences and violations of restraining orders issued to protect alleged victims.

The court, however, upheld only part of the indictment, including two counts of sexual assault. According to media reports, both proven offences involved women who were unable to resist at the time of the crimes because they were either asleep or under the influence of substances. Høiby was acquitted of two other similar allegations due to insufficient evidence.

 

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Prosecutors had sought a significantly harsher sentence, requesting seven years and seven months in prison. The defence, by contrast, argued for a sentence of approximately one and a half years. Høiby denied the most serious allegations and stated that he suffers from several mental health disorders and is undergoing treatment.

It is worth noting that Høiby has been involved in a number of scandals over the years. In 2024, he was detained on suspicion of assaulting a woman and driving without a valid licence. Earlier, he had also come to the attention of law enforcement following an incident in which his girlfriend was allegedly assaulted and subsequently hospitalised with injuries.

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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had only recently begun serving a five-year prison sentence at Paris’s La Santé prison, has been released from custody. The Paris Court of Appeal granted his request for release and ruled that Sarkozy will remain under judicial supervision until the appeal process is concluded.

Instead of prison, he will now wear an electronic ankle monitor and must comply with strict conditions: he is forbidden to leave the country or contact key figures involved in the case, including Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin and members of his circle.

Sarkozy spent less than three weeks behind bars. Speaking via video link during the hearing, he admitted that the days in confinement had been «very difficult» and «exhausting».

Earlier reports stated that Sarkozy was held in a nine-square-meter single cell. He was allowed three visits per week and permitted to use a mobile phone – but only to call numbers pre-approved by investigators.

To recall, the court had found the politician guilty of conspiring with associates and accepting illegal campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the 2007 presidential race. Sarkozy firmly denies the charges, calling the proceedings «an act of revenge».

He thus became the first French leader since World War II – and the first former president of a European Union member state – to serve time in prison. Given his age, he was eligible to request a reduction of his sentence, which the court ultimately granted.

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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving his five-year prison sentence at La Santé Prison in Paris. Sharing this moment with him was his wife, model Carla Bruni, who stood by his side as he left their home.

Dressed entirely in black and holding her husband’s hand, she accompanied her beloved to prison, while a gathered crowd of supporters chanted Sarkozy’s name and sang La Marseillaise, The Independent reports.

 

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On social media platform X, the ex-president addressed the citizens, declaring that he was the victim of political persecution.

«I want to tell the French people with all my strength that it is not a former president who is going to prison today, but an innocent man», he wrote.

Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiring with associates to obtain illegal campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during his 2007 presidential campaign. The politician firmly denies the charges, calling the case «an act of revenge».

 

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Despite his appeal, the former president will remain in custody for at least several months – until the hearing scheduled for March 2026. Thus, he has become the first president of France to actually end up behind bars.

Before his arrest, Sarkozy revealed that he had brought three books with him, including The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, noting that he does not fear prison and plans to use the time to write a new book.

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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been definitively found guilty in a corruption and influence-peddling case and sentenced to three years in prison. According to the decision of the Court of Cassation in Paris, Sarkozy will serve two years on probation and one year under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. Additionally, Sarkozy is barred from running for election for three years.

As reported by the French media company RFI, such a verdict is unprecedented for a former head of state. The 69-year-old politician will now be summoned by a judge to implement the electronic bracelet ruling.

However, Sarkozy’s lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, stated that the former president intends to appeal his case to the European Court of Human Rights, maintaining his innocence.

Moreover, Sarkozy may avoid serving his sentence entirely, as he will turn 70 on January 28, which allows him to request early conditional release due to age.

The trial against Nicolas Sarkozy began in late November 2020. The politician was accused of attempting to bribe judge Gilbert Azibert to obtain confidential information about an investigation into donations from L’Oréal co-owner and billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, which were allegedly used to finance his 2007 presidential campaign.

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