– Over the weekend, the Ministry of Justice held a dialogue with the Norwegian Civil Rights Administration, which must process the application for such a claim. The matter will be prioritized, says Mehl. This means that the Norwegian Civil Rights Administration will do “its utmost” to ensure that an advance payment can be made before the new year, according to the Minister of Justice. – I am glad that the demand has come. I hope Viggo Kristiansen gets good conditions as soon as possible to start a new life in freedom. It is then up to the Norwegian Civil Rights Administration to decide on a possible amount and the practicalities. – How common is it for things like this to happen so quickly? – This is a completely unusual case. We have few examples of judicial murders in Norway, and this is perhaps the most serious legal scandal we have faced in recent times. I hope the conditions will be made as easy as possible for Viggo Kristiansen in the time he has ahead of him, Mehl replies. Doubled original estimate TV 2 reported earlier today that Viggo Kristiansen’s lawyers have sent a claim to the Norwegian Civil Justice Administration for NOK 10 million as an advance payment of the compensation before the New Year. The sum is twice as high as they announced before the weekend. – After reassessing an estimate from last week of 5 million, after further reflection we have come to the conclusion that the right thing to do is to ask for 10 million today, says Kristiansen’s defender Bjørn André Gulstad to news. Viggo Kristiansen’s defender Bjørn André Gulstad says they have reassessed the situation, and believes 10 million in advance is a more appropriate sum than 5 million. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB He says that an important reason for increasing the requirement has to do with the situation Viggo Kristiansen finds himself in. – This is a young man aged 43 who lives at home with his parents. He wants to get on in life. He has no job and no income, and therefore no funding either. He depends on being able to buy a home in cash to get ahead, says Gulstad. Kristiansen has received work verification money since he was released from prison a year and a half ago, and according to the lawyer, he has had “bad advice for a long time”. – He needs to get on in practical terms with regard to the purchase of furniture, chattels and so on. In addition, it is important for him to get a license and a car. Therefore, 10 million is an estimate that we think is natural to ask for when we have reached where we are now, he says. Is only a small part of the total demand Based on the dialogue the lawyers have had with the Norwegian Civil Justice Administration today, and the signals from the Minister of Justice, Gulstad also believes that there is good reason to believe that Kristiansen can have this advance processed urgently. He has good faith that Viggo Kristiansen can get the money before the New Year. Gulstad, who is part of the team that will continue to work on the final compensation claim for Kristiansen, said before the weekend that it could take over a year before it becomes clear how much money Kristiansen will demand in compensation. But he believes it is already safe to say that NOK 10 million is only a “small part” of the total claim. – You have to be able to establish that already today, he says and continues: – Here we are talking about 20 years and of course he has been wrongfully prosecuted. One thing is the recovery of several tens of millions, but the other is the financial loss. So I would estimate that 10 million is a small part of the total claim.
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– It is expected that Kristiansen will receive an advance before the New Year – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
