– Our clients have chosen to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment because they feel that the judgment does not reflect the principle of the presumption of innocence, say the men’s defenders, lawyers John Christian Elden and Maria Hessen Jacobsen, in a press release.
The appeal was delivered to the Supreme Court on Friday and challenges the Gulating Court of Appeal’s decision on compensation.
– Being acquitted of punishment, but at the same time sentenced to pay compensation with a justification that suggests guilt, creates a conflict with the idea of a real acquittal, say the lawyers.
Three men aged 24, 25 and 27 were accused of gang rape once morest a woman in her 20s. The incident happened at a party in Bergen on the night of 3 January 2021. The men were accused of beating, tying and raping the woman, but believed that it was voluntary group sex.
Two of the men were convicted in the Hordaland District Court for gang rape, but acquitted during a dissent in the Gulating Court of Appeal in April. However, they were sentenced to pay NOK 240,000 in compensation to the woman.
The third man was unanimously acquitted and also did not have to pay compensation. He was also acquitted in the district court.
#men #acquitted #gang #rape #case #appealing #compensation #verdict
2024-05-04 01:40:51
