Norway court grants Marius Borg Høiby appeal for retrial on rape charges

Oslo appellate court agrees to reopen case

The Borgarting Court of Appeal in Oslo announced on Thursday, 10 September 2026, that it has decided to admit the appeal filed by Marius Borg Høiby and reopen proceedings on essential elements of the case. The 29-year-old was sentenced on 15 June 2026 by the Oslo District Court to four years in prison following his conviction on multiple criminal counts. The district court found Høiby guilty of two counts of rape under Norwegian criminal law involving two women, abuse in an intimate relationship against a former girlfriend, grievous bodily harm, and several related offenses. Høiby lodged a formal appeal challenging the convictions for the two rapes as well as the relationship abuse, denying the allegations in both instances.

The Borgarting appellate judges determined that the higher court will conduct a complete reassessment of the evidence and the underlying legal questions regarding the contested convictions. In an official press release issued on Thursday morning, the appellate court confirmed that administrative preparations for the retrial will start right away, though the exact timeline for the courtroom hearings remains undecided.

The court of appeal will immediately begin preparations for the proceedings.

Legal strategies from defense and prosecution

Following the announcement, Høiby's defense attorney, Petar Sekulic, stated to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that the legal team had anticipated this outcome and was satisfied with the decision to grant the appeal. However, the decision to reopen the proceedings introduces substantial legal risks for Høiby because the public prosecution service has also lodged its own appeal against the Oslo District Court sentence. State prosecutors maintain that the four-year prison term handed down in June is too lenient relative to the gravity and number of the offenses committed.

During the initial district court proceedings, prosecutors had demanded a prison term of more than seven years. State prosecutors have indicated that they will push for a considerably longer prison sentence during the renewed appellate proceedings than the four-year penalty originally ordered by the court. While the Borgarting court has not yet published an official trial schedule, previous legal estimates indicate that the appeal trial could begin in 2027 at the earliest.

Custodial status and royal household context

Høiby remains in pre-trial custody serving his detention with an electronic ankle monitor at the Skaugum estate, the private residential property of the Norwegian royal family. As the son of Queen Mette-Marit (53) from a prior relationship and the stepson of King Haakon (53), the 29-year-old does not hold official royal status and carries out no royal duties on behalf of the Crown. Nonetheless, the investigation, repeated arrests, and subsequent criminal trials have continuously attracted intense public scrutiny to the royal household.

The appellate court ruling comes one day after the state funeral for Norway's late King Harald V, who died at the age of 89 nearly two weeks prior to the decision. Judicial authorities granted Høiby temporary release from custody on multiple occasions during the period of mourning following the monarch's death. Høiby was permitted to leave the estate to attend the state funeral on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, before the Borgarting Court of Appeal issued its formal decision to proceed with the retrial.