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In June, Jensen was sentenced to 21 years in prison at the Borgarting Court of Appeal for flagrant corruption and complicity in serious drug-related crimes.
The case had then been heard a second time in the Court of Appeal, after the jury’s decision was overturned in the first.
Jensen appealed on the spot. You cannot appeal against a judgment of the Court of Appeal against the question of guilt, so the appeal concerned the prosecution of the case, the application of the law and the judgment.
The Supreme Court Appeals Committee writes in its decision that the verdict is “well structured and very comprehensive”, and that the Appeal Court has not applied an incorrect proof requirement.
“The Appeals Committee has observed that the grounds for the Court of Appeal’s ruling, on the contrary, leave the impression that the Court of Appeal has shown great caution in evaluating the evidence and that the grounds for the ruling provide no evidence that the Court of Appeal did not give Jensen reasonable doubts. “
The Supreme Court also notes that Jensen’s letters of support apply largely to the specific evaluation of the evidence, on which the Supreme Court does not rule.
A procedural error is denied, and the Supreme Court has no comment on the length of the sentence or the amount of the forfeiture of NOK 1.4 million.
Eirik Jensen was arrested by the Bureau of Investigation during the break, after receiving a 21-year prison sentence.
Cohabitant: – Sad as hell
Eirik Jensen’s partner, Ragna Lise Vikre, was present in the courtroom during all rounds of court.
– It is very sad. I’m afraid Eirik will go off, Vikre writes in an SMS to NRK.
Vikre also spoke after the verdict was rendered. He then told him that Jensen was reduced and did not know how he was going to cope with incarceration.
– 21 years is horrible, he said then.
Elden: – Disappointing.
Eirik Jensen defender John Christian Elden says he is disappointed.
– It is disappointing that they do not allow the case to be examined in the Supreme Court. It’s such a special case that we hoped they would accept it for treatment, says Elden.
He hasn’t spoken to Jensen yet.
– No, we are on our way now to visit him in jail and make this decision with him, says Elden.
John Christian Elden is Eirik Jensen’s defender. He is disappointed that the Supreme Court is not considering the case.
Photo: Geir Olsen
The verdict is now final and therefore finally decided in the Norwegian legal system.
– If the case is finally closed, I’m more insecure, but now we have to digest this and move on, says Elden.
– What do you mean?
– This means that there are no more appeals in Norway and the verdict is final. It is possible to attack it internationally, it is possible to request its reopening, but all this has to be looked at. Now we have to digest the decision first, he says.
The Supreme Court considers the judgment of the Court of Appeal to be comprehensive and well structured.
– We observe that the Supreme Court says that the judge has been good to write a verdict, and that is good, but it is not certain that the result is correct for that reason, says Elden.
Guro Glærum Kleppe from the Special Police Affairs Unit says they are satisfied that the appeal has been rejected. Kleppe was also the prosecutor in the case against Jensen.
– For the Office, this has been a very demanding case, and it is good to get a final decision, Kleppe tells NRK.
Rejected before
Jensen has also appealed several times against pretrial detention and has been rejected by the Supreme Court.
At a meeting at the prison in July, it was also revealed that Jensen had denounced several people from the Special Police Affairs Unit.
Among them were the head of the investigation department in eastern Norway, Liv Øyen, and the deputy chief Guro Glærum Kleppe, who was the prosecutor in the case against Jensen.
Jensen has always denied criminal guilt.
Gjermund Cappelen also appealed his 13-year prison sentence to the Supreme Court, but withdrew it in August. He can be paroled from August 2022.
Investigation deferred
When the first verdict was rendered in the district court in 2017, then-Justice Minister Per-Willy Amundsen took the lead in an external and independent investigation.
The reason was that trust in the police had weakened as a result of the Jensen case.
The following year, the Ministry of Justice turned around. They wouldn’t even look at the case until there was a final judgment.
– We take note of the decision of the Supreme Court. When it comes to evaluation, we need to get back to it in terms of details, Police Director Benedicte Bjørnland tells NRK after Tuesday’s decision.
– A unique case
Anstein Gjengedal, who was the chief of police in Oslo from 2000 to 2012, had not heard of the decision when NRK called.
– Based on the conviction, it was not unexpected, but I thought it would be nice if the Supreme Court had considered the sentence. It is a unique case in Norwegian legal history, he says.
Gjengedal says he believes the sentence was strict. When he testified in court, he said he never learned of any suspicions against Jensen.
– Do you accept self-criticism?
– I had no knowledge of the double game. No one had any objection to Jensen when the gang project was established in 2006, he says.
– They cheated on you?
– I was not deceived, but the police as such and the entire system have reason to feel betrayed, says Gjengedal.
