Dogged struggle for credibility in Jensen court case

Eirik Jensen: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

When Eirik Jensen and Gjermund Cappelen meet in court for the first time on Monday, they will present opposite claims. The marathon case is primarily a tenacious battle to become the one who is believed.

Cappelen (50) is the prosecution’s key witness, and his evidence will be crucial to getting Eric Jensen (59) convicted of gross corruption, and serious drug crimes.

He claims the former high ranking police officer, for over a decade, helped him smuggle 13.9 tons of hashish into Norway in exchange for money, and gifts, to a total value of approximately 2.1 million.

Jensen will plead ‘not guilty’ when Judge Kim Heger asks him whether he acknowledges guilt for the most serious charges on Monday.

He and the defense team claim that the case stems from someone wanting to frame the undercover policeman, who for years knew many of Oslo’s criminals from inside their network.

Oslo District Court is set to begin considering the case on Monday morning. It will hear evidence related to extensive drug and corruption charges over the following months.

A total of 150 witnesses will testify. Much of the presentation of evidence will involve technical information. Teledata and SMS messages prove, according to the prosecutors, that Jensen, in a variety of ways, gave warnings or clear signals connected to the importation of hashish to many major parties involved in the smuggling.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today