Latest news with #Scandinavia
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Son of Norway princess charged with rape and sexual assault
The eldest son of Norway's crown princess was charged with multiple counts of rape, sexual assault and bodily harm, on Friday, after ten months of investigation. Marius Borg Hoiby is the 28-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne — Crown Prince Haakon. He was arrested several times in 2024 amid allegations of rape and preliminary charges of bodily harm. Hoiby has faced scrutiny since and has been at the center of an investigation involving a "double-digit" number of victims. "I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number," Oslo Police Attorney Andreas Kruszewski said at a news conference. He added that the charges include one case of rape involving intercourse, two cases of rape without intercourse, four cases of sexual assault and two cases of bodily harm. The attorney said the evidence had been gathered from sources including text-messages, police searches and witness testimonies. In an email to The Associated Press, Defense attorney Petar Sekulic said Hoiby was "taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases — especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence." The Crown princess' eldest son is her child from a different relationship before she was married to Crown Prince Haakon. Hoiby grew up with the privelege of the other royals but does not hold a formal title or have a public role. After the initial allegations of bodily harm last year, Hoiby admitted to acts of violence directed towards his partner under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. In a statement to the public, he spoke of psychological problems and long-term drug abuse. Edited by: Kieran Burke
Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Danish citizens to ‘own their own faces' to prevent deepfakes
Denmark plans to become the first country in the world to give its citizens copyright over their faces and voices in an effort to clamp down on 'deepfakes' — videos, audio clips and images that are digitally doctored to spread false information. In recent years the tools for making deepfakes, including artificial intelligence-assisted editing software, have become so sophisticated and ubiquitous that it takes not much more than a few clicks of a mouse to create them. They are already endemic in the political sphere and were deployed during recent election campaigns in Slovakia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Argentina. The former US president Joe Biden was subjected to an audio deepfake during the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire last year. In November an MP from the German Social Democratic party was reprimanded for posting a deepfake video of Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader and future chancellor, saying that his party 'despised' the electorate. The Danish culture ministry said it would soon no longer be possible to distinguish between real and deepfake material. That in turn would undermine trust in authentic pictures and videos, it warned. 'Since images and videos swiftly become embedded in people's subconscious, digitally manipulated versions of an image or video can establish fundamental doubts and perhaps even a completely wrong perception of genuine depictions of reality.' There is now broad cross-party support in Denmark's parliament for a reform to the copyright law that would make it illegal to share deepfakes. The bill includes a special protection for musicians and performing artists against digital imitations. 'We are now sending an unequivocal signal to all citizens that you have the right to your own body, your own voice and your own facial features,' said Jakob Engel-Schmidt, the culture minister. Lars Christian Lilleholt, the parliamentary leader of the Danish Liberal party, which is part of the ruling coalition, said AI tools had made it alarmingly easy to impersonate politicians and celebrities and to exploit their aura of credibility to propagate false claims. 'It is not just harmful to the individual who has their identity stolen,' he said. 'It is harmful to democracy as a whole when we cannot trust what we see.' The reform will include an exemption for parody and satire. This is a thorny area: several studies suggest a large proportion of political deepfakes are humorous or harmless rather than malicious. There are some experts who warn that concern about the phenomenon risks tipping over into a moral panic. In April last year Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Social Democratic prime minister, was targeted with an AI-generated deepfake that fell into this grey area. After her government announced that it was abolishing a Christian public holiday, the right-wing populist Danish People's Party released a video of a fake press conference where Frederiksen appeared to say she would scrap all the other religious holidays, including Easter and Christmas. The clip, which was presented as a dream sequence and clearly labelled as AI-manipulated content, prompted debate about the acceptable boundaries of the technology.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Son of Norway's crown princess charged with rape, sexual assault and bodily harm
Oslo police on Friday announced charges against Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway's crown princess, on counts including rape, sexual assault and bodily harm after a months-long investigation of a case that involved a 'double-digit' number of alleged victims. Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 amid allegations of rape and on preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage. The Oslo police attorney Andreas Kruszewski said Høiby had been cooperative during police questioning, which was now complete. Evidence in the case was drawn from sources including text messages, witness testimonies and police searches, the police attorney said. The charges included one case of rape involving intercourse and two cases of rape without intercourse, four cases of sexual assault and two cases of bodily harm, Kruszewksi said at a news conference. 'I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number,' he said. The defence attorney Petar Sekulic, in an email to the Associated Press, said Høiby was 'absolutely taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases – especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence'. The royal palace did not immediately respond to a request from AP seeking comment. Høiby, 28, previously lived with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, but now lives in a separate house nearby, according to Sekulic. He remains free pending a possible trial and is entitled to a presumption of innocence until a court rules otherwise.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
Son of Norway's crown princess suspected of 23 offences including rape
The son of Norway's crown princess is suspected of three rapes and 23 other offences, police said on Borg Høiby, who is the stepson of Norway's future king, was arrested three separate times last year, in August, September and November. After a 10-month investigation, Norwegian police have now handed the case over to prosecutors who will decide whether to press charges, police attorney Andreas Kruszewski said. Høiby's lawyer Petar Sekulic said his client was "taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases - especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence". The 28-year-old, who does not have a royal title or official duties, had been under investigation since his arrest on 4 August 2024 on suspicion of assault. In a statement, Oslo Police District said they carried out a "thorough investigation", with a "large number of witness interviews, several searches and a review of extensive digital material". Høiby was questioned several times during the autumn of 2024 and spring of 2025 and "cooperated with the police", the statement said. Amongst the charges police said Høiby was suspected of were four counts of sexually offensive behaviour, one count of abuse in a close relationship and two counts of bodily harm. Police confirmed that some cases involving sexual offences had been dismissed due to "statute of limitations and evidentiary reasons". "I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number," Mr Kruszewski said. The Royal House of Norway noted in a statement that the case was proceeding through the legal system and had nothing further to add.
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Denmark seeks to make it illegal to spread deepfake images, citing concern about misinformation
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark is taking steps toward enacting a ban on the use of 'deepfake' imagery online, saying such digital manipulations can stir doubts about reality and foster misinformation. The government said in a statement published Thursday that a 'broad cross section' of parties in parliament support greater protections against deepfakes and a planned bill is expected to make it illegal to share them or other digital imitations of personal characteristics.
