Einar Riis

Consul Einar Riis, (October 19, 1922, Oslo, Norway – May 30, 2006 in Arvika, Sweden) was a permanent resident in Monaco since the late 1960s till he died. Before Consul Riis moved to Monaco, he lived and worked in Rome, Italy. During the WWII Consul Riis was engaged in sabotage activities for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) against the Germans in Norway. He participated in Operation Mardonius in April 1943 together with SOE agents like Max Manus. After carrying out the Operation Mardonius he had to flee to Sweden were he was forwarded to Canada and Little Norway to be educated as a Spitfire pilot. After the war Consul Riis was first stationed in Naples to become involved in the aviation industry.

In 1961 Consul Riis received Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, the Knight I, for his contribution as an Olympic attacé during the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

The Estate of the late Consul Einar Riis vs France

Consul Einar Riis directly and through his company E. Riis & Company SRL was a founding shareholder of Aerolinee Itavia. Consul Riis was also the founder of [http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riis_Flyrederi Riis Flyrederi] .

Consul Einar Riis passed away under tragic and suspicious circumstances by acute liver failure, on May 30 2006 in the Swedish hospital; Sjukhuset i Arvika.

During his life – after the Ustica disaster – Consul Riis expressed very serious concerns that he was on some kind of a short list. Similar conspiracy theories are mentioned in the article Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870.

On June 23 2008, Rome prosecutors reopened the investigation into the crash after former Italian President Francesco Cossiga said that the aircraft had been shot down by French warplanes. [1]

On July 7 2008 the estate of the late Consul Einar Riis, represented by the testamentary executor Mr. Herman J Berge, Luxembourg, filed an [http://www.rettsnorge.no/Sakslinker/Riis/Dokumenter/070708%20Claim%20letter%20to%20President%20Sarkozy%20Itavia%20Ustica.pdf official claim] for damages with the French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

On August 29 2008 the French President [http://www.rettsnorge.no/Sakslinker/Riis/Dokumenter/290808%20Letter%20from%20the%20Presidency.pdf denied] any responsibility for this accident.

This denial of responsibility is contrary to what the former Italian President Cossiga stated earlier this year.

The estate of the late Consul Einar Riis, represented by Mr. Herman J Berge, is preparing a case against France in the European Court of Justice, Luxembourg.

It is expected that many of the families of the victims will join the lawsuit against France (September 9, 2008).

Update October 10 2008:

Another [http://www.rettsnorge.no/Sakslinker/Riis/Dokumenter/101008%20Claim%20letter%20II%20to%20President%20Sarkozy%20Ustica.pdf claim letter] as well as a criminal complaint was presented to the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy on October 10 2008.