Metropolitan police have filed a new plea to the son of a billionaire who allegedly raped and murdered a Norwegian student in London to return to the UK.
In 2008, the body of Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, was found in a basement on Portland Street.
The main suspect Farouk Abdulhak fled to Yemen a few hours after his death – told the BBC in 2023 that she died of a “sexual accident error”.
In a statement on Friday, Ms. Margson’s father and the chief detective in the case sent a new appeal to Mr. Abdulhak, who returned from Yemen, in which the case did not file an extradition treaty with the UK.
An autopsy found that Ms. Margson died of compression of her neck and had multiple cuts and grazing on her body.
The policy said the inquiry also indicated that she was raped during her death.
Her father, Odd Petter Magnussen, said: “For 17 years, the judge has been rejected and Farouk Abdulhak remains a freeman in Yemen.
“Violence against women and girls is a crisis affecting families around the world, and Martin’s case is a clear reminder that justice is denied.
“Martin’s voice was silent, but we must not be silent for her.”
Ms. Magnussen and Mr. Abdulhak both studied at the Regent’s Business School in London and celebrated the end of the exam together at the exclusive Maddox nightclub in Mayfair in the early hours of March 14, 2008.
CCTV shows Martin leaving the club with Mr. Abdulhak at 02:59. Her friends said Mr Abdulhak was willing to host a party at his apartment in Greater Portland Street, central London.
Metropolitan Police Releases New Photos of Farouk Abdulhak [Metropolitan Police]
Two days later, police found her body in the basement of the apartment block, but the main suspect, Mr. Abdulhak, had fled the UK. He flew to Cairo by commercial and then to Yemen.
Abdulhak’s father, Shaher Abdulhak, was one of the richest and most powerful people in Yemen before his death in 2020. He owned a business empire built on sugar, soft drinks, oil and weapons, and was then close friend of the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
“I did something when I was young, and it was a mistake,” Abdulhak said in a speech to the BBC in 2023.
He communicated via text message and said, “It’s just an accident. There’s nothing evil.
“It was just a one-time accident that went wrong.”
He added: “No one knows because I can hardly piece together what happened.”
When asked why, he answered in one word: “Cocaine.”
He described himself as “legal” [expletive]”Because “leaving the country and being moved.”
He also told the BBC: “1: I deeply regret the unfortunate accident that happened. 2 Regrets to come here [to Yemen] It should be left to pay to the flute blower. ”
His lawyers had previously insisted that he was innocent of murder.
“I don’t think justice will be obtained,” Mr. Abdulhak told BBC news correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi by phone in 2023 when asked if he would return to the UK.
“I found the criminal justice system there [in the UK] Severe bias. I found that they would want to be a role model for me to be the son of an Arab, and that it was… the son of a rich man… it was too late,” Mr. Abdulhak said.
Jim Barry, a detective inspector who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said the force “today be as dedicated as we did to deliver justice for Martine in 2008.”
Det Insp Barry said in a message against Mr Abdulhak: “You have been running and hiding for 17 years.
“You participated in the BBC documentary, providing explanations about what happened. It’s time to grow up and face the responsibility of Martin and her family.
“Come to the UK now and explain everything to the courts and the jury. Our pursuit of you will not stop.”
