The Council of Europe, Europe’s leading human rights body, decided on Wednesday to waive the diplomatic immunity of former Norwegian Secretary General Thorbjoern Jagland, allowing police to investigate his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Norwegian police have opened an investigation against Jagland, a former prime minister, foreign minister and chairman of the Nobel Peace Committee, on suspicion of corruption.
The decision to investigate Jagland, who was secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019, is based on information revealed in recently released documents related to Epstein, a convicted American sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
Jagland’s lawyer Anders Brosveet said the waiver of immunity was expected and that Jagland will fully cooperate with the investigation to clarify all the circumstances, stressing that his client does not believe there are grounds for criminal responsibility.
Norwegian police will investigate whether Jagland received gifts, trips or loans in connection with his position. The police stated that accepting a bribe would be a breach of trust required by his position.
Recently released documents from the US revealed numerous connections of Epstein with politicians, members of royal families and very rich people across Europe and the US. The documents show Jagland and Epstein’s assistants planned a 2014 trip for Jagland, his wife, two children and his son’s girlfriend to Epstein’s properties in Palm Beach and the Caribbean, which Jagland denies.
In a 2014 email, Jagland asked for Epstein’s help in financing an apartment in Oslo, while documents from 2018 show that Epstein asked Jagland to set up a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, claiming he had information for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Norway’s parliamentary oversight committee unanimously decided Tuesday to launch a rare external investigation into the Foreign Ministry’s ties to Epstein.
(Vijesti.ba)
