The Birgitte Tengs case: – Claimed millions

STAVANGER (Dagbladet): – We made a sober demand to help a man in an acute financial situation.

So says lawyer Stian Bråstein, who together with colleague Stian Kristensen defended the Karmøy man who was charged with the murder of Birgitte Tengs. The man was sentenced in the district court to 17 years in prison, but was later acquitted in the court of appeal.

Following the acquittal, it was announced that there will be a compensation claim from the man, including for the strain he has experienced and for lost future income. NOK 2 million in advance for compensation was also demanded.

However, the Civil Rights Administration has refused the demand for an advance. Bråstein tells Dagbladet.

– Discrimination

One case to which parallels have been drawn in connection with the claim is the murders in Baneheia. After Viggo Kristiansen was acquitted and cleared of the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) in Baneheia, after serving 20 years in prison, it became clear that he was going to demand a record-breaking compensation of NOK 90 million. Kristiansen received ten million in advance, and was recently awarded 55 million in compensation – a sum which has been appealed.

Dagbladet is informed that Kristiansen’s advance was used as an example in connection with the Tengs case and compensation after the acquittal. The man who was acquitted spent, among other things, 27 months in custody from the time he was arrested until the acquittal came in the Court of Appeal.

In the refusal from the Civil Rights Administration, it is stated, among other things, that no advance payment is made. It is also pointed out that the Baneheia case was an exception and a case of a very special nature.

– It is a form of discrimination that is difficult to understand. Our client is without a job and without prospects of getting a job, says Bråstein.

– Not equality before the law

The prosecution received strong criticism in the Court of Appeal when the acquittal came. They determined that it could in no way be proven beyond every reasonable doubt that the Karmøy man was behind the murder of 17-year-old Birgitte Tengs in 1995.

Attorney Bråstein adds that the advance is also far below what must be considered a final and reasonable compensation claim. Therefore, he believes it is incomprehensible that the refusal comes in view of the fact that his client has been in custody for such a long time.

– He is in a completely desperate financial situation because of the case and almost two and a half years without income. Not paying out an advance in this case is not equal before the law in my view, Bråstein asserts.