21 years innocent in prison: miscarriage of justice exposed after decades

Created: 2022-10-23 06:35

By: Victoria Krumbeck

Viggo Kristiansen was in prison for more than two decades.

© Christian Charisius/dpa

It is probably one of the biggest judicial scandals in Norway.

A man is innocent in prison and is released after almost 21 years.

Munich/Oslo - It sounds like something out of a movie: a man is in prison for two decades, then it turns out that he is innocent.

At the beginning of his 20th year, the Norwegian Viggo Kristiansen is locked up together with Jan Helge Andersen for raping and murdering two girls.

The 43-year-old man has spent almost half his life behind bars.

On Friday, the Norwegian prosecutor announced that the allegations against the man would be dropped.

Innocent in prison: Norwegian is released after almost 21 years

In May 2000, Norway was rocked by a brutal murder.

Eight-year-old Stine Sofie Sörströnen and ten-year-old Lena Slögedal Paulsen were raped and then murdered.

The two girls were returning from a bathing lake in the Baneheia leisure area near Kristiansand.

Two men, Jan Helge Andersen and Viggo Kristiansen, were arrested.

Kristiansen has always maintained his innocence.

However, based on the testimony of his co-defendant Andersen, he was sentenced in two instances in 2001 and 2002 to the maximum sentence at that time of 21 years with the possibility of further preventive detention.

The process resumed last year.

There were considerable doubts about Anderson's statement, which heavily incriminated his friend Kristiansen.

Innocent in prison: miscarriage of justice exposed after more than 20 years

Anderson received a lighter sentence for cooperating with the police and, unlike his friend, was sentenced to only 19 years in prison.

The reason for the doubts: The DNA evidence spoke against the thesis of more than one perpetrator.

In addition, Kristiansen's cell phone was registered far away at the alleged time of the crime.

The evidence of the man's innocence prevailed and he was released from prison.

Attorney General Jörn Sigurd Maurud expressly apologized to Kristiansen for the "injustice committed".

The case "had profoundly tragic consequences, particularly for Viggo Kristiansen, who was serving more than 20 years in prison, depriving much of his life of his life, and for his family," he told reporters.

At the same time he announced further investigations against Andersen.

Innocent in prison: Around three million euros in compensation for almost 21 years in prison

Norway's police leadership and the police district that conducted the investigation also asked for forgiveness.

Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl announced an independent investigation into the possible failure of the police and the judiciary.

If the court of appeal actually acquitted Kristiansen, the case would be one of "the biggest judicial scandals," as Mehl explained.

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The acquittal by a court is still pending, but these are only formalities.

According to his lawyer, the man could demand the equivalent of more than three million euros in compensation from the Norwegian state for the two decades in prison.

It is questionable whether the apologies and the money can replace the lost lifetime.

In another case in the US, a man who was innocently imprisoned for 39 years received around 19 million euros.