A man in his 40s from Stavanger has been accused by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office of having made serious threats against Bent Høie. – I can confirm that an indictment has been issued in connection with threats against a member of Erna Solberg’s government. Whether the statements made will lead to criminal liability is up to the courts to assess, says the man’s defender, Odd Rune Torstrup to news. It was last year that the Stavanger man on two occasions called both the Trøndelag police district and the Ministries’ joint switchboard and made threats against Høie. Sandnesposten has previously written about the case. The man’s defender, Odd Rune Torstrup, confirms that his client has made the threats, but says it will be up to the court to assess whether it is criminal. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Høie has confidence in the police According to the indictment, he has made several death threats. Among other things, the man is said to have said: “Høie will be killed within 24 hours” and “He will get a neck shot”. One of the threats can also be interpreted as criticism of the former Minister of Health and handling of the pandemic. According to the indictment, the public prosecutor believes that the threats were suitable for imposing restrictions or exercising influence on Minister of Health Høie’s work as Minister of State. Bent Høie tells news that he has confidence that the police and the judicial system handle this case in a correct way, but does not want to comment on the case beyond that. As far as news knows, the case has been investigated by PST and will be heard in Sør-Rogaland District Court in November. Martin Bernsen is a senior adviser at PST. Photo: Knut-Martin Løken / news – Few people reach the courtroom Senior adviser in the Police Security Service (PST), Martin Bernsen, does not want to comment on the case, but says on a general basis that politicians are exposed to a lot of inconvenience and threats. – In the first instance, we check whether the threats made are real. If there is a threat under the law, we start an investigation and consider prosecution. Most cases are then checked out and dropped. Few people reach the courtroom, he says. He says, however, that there has been an increased negative attention towards politicians in recent years. – In recent years, a lot of threats and incitement have been made against politicians. The number of cases that reach the court system does not reflect all the heat. That is why it is important that we draw attention to the fact that there are consequences of threatening politicians, he says. Denies criminal guilt The man is charged with violation of section 115 of the Penal Code, Attacks on the activities of the highest state bodies. This can be punished with imprisonment for up to ten years. – My client made the statements from abroad and later reported in Norway by agreement with PST and me, Torstrup says. The defendant denies criminal guilt.
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Charged with serious threats against Bent Høie – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
