Posted on 02/04/2004 10:01:00 PM PST by ambrose
Norwegian newspaper convicted of pimping
Associated Press
Oslo - A Norwegian newspaper was convicted Wednesday of pimping and ordered to pay fines by an Oslo court for publishing advertisements from prostitutes.
Prostitution is legal in Norway, but profiting from prostitution by others is illegal.
The weekly tabloid SoendagSoendag (Sunday Sunday) routinely publishes advertisements that the Oslo district court found clearly offer sexual services for pay.
The court ordered the newspaper to pay a 30,000 kroner ($5,750 Canadian) fine and surrender 300,000 kroner ($57,500 in revenue from the advertisements.
In its nine-page ruling, the court said even though some advertising texts were ambiguous, such as "Gentlemen visitors wanted. You won't regret it," pictures of scantily clad women that accompanied most of them left no doubt about the intent.
"After having looked through 210 advertisements in the two editions of SoendagSoendag that were presented to the court, it has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that as good as all the advertisements with text and photos unmistakably offer sexual services in exchange for compensation," the ruling said.
The newspaper's editor said he will appeal.
"There are important questions of principle that have not be clarified in this ruling," editor Nils Olav Fardal Bruteig was quoted as telling the Internet edition of the Bergens Tidende newspaper. "I can't see how I can be held responsible for the contents of advertisements."
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So the whores have to market themselves, basically. Makes a lot of sense. I'm sure this keeps the sleaze out of the business of prostitution.
So should prostitutes' clothiers and the suppliers of their prophylactics be prosecuted next? After all, they profit from prostitution.
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