Several Icelandic activists are now facing criminal penalties, all charged with violating Article 19 of the Police Act, a controversial law that several Icelandic lawyers Grapevine has spoken to have pointed out violating both the Icelandic Constitution and European human rights law. for participating in peaceful protests. The activists in question have issued a joint statement which can be read below.
The charges stem from two separate peaceful protests. In the first, the activists stood outside the Icelandic Parliament with tape over their mouths and hands in the air on March 19, 2019. Three of them were then arrested. The second protest was a peaceful sitting held in the lobby of the Ministry of Justice on April 5 of the same year.
In both cases, the accused are charged with violating Article 19, which states: “The public is obliged to obey instructions given by the police, such as in traffic control or to ensure law and order in public spaces.”
Icelandic lawyers interviewed by Grapevine in an extensive investigation published last November said that the police had extensive powers to arrest, that the courts took a very narrow interpretation of police power at the expense of these protesters, that prosecutors limited or outright limited defense. lawyers’ access to evidence against their clients and that the appeal of these cases has such a high threshold that they can have a chilling effect – all of which sometimes violate the Icelandic Constitution and European human rights law.
This article has been used by the police to justify the arrest of people participating in peaceful protests – something to be protected by Articles 73 and 74 of the Icelandic Constitution. Helga Baldvins Bjargardóttir, one of the lawyers that Grapevine spoke to, also pointed out that Article 19 did not contain the exceptions that are clearly described in Articles 5 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“I do not think the Human Rights Court justifies the way the police acted [refugees] protest [in front of Parliament]and also when they were protesting within the Ministry of Justice, “she told us. “What the court considers is: were the protests peaceful? If it was peaceful, then it is protected. “
Sigrún Ingibjörg Gísladóttir, a lawyer at the Court’s law offices, asked if the courts only look at “was a police ruling given and was it followed?” Answered “I think it is a fair assessment of recent cases that I have examined from the District Courts. At the same time, we also have some older judgments from the Supreme Court and some judgments from the Human Rights Court, which are examining the interpretation process that must take place. “
Ragnar Aðalsteinsson, a lawyer who has long fought for the rights of protesters in Iceland, agreed with these feelings.
“Icelandic courts tend to say that the inconvenience of protesters needs to be stopped,” he told us. “An ECHR [has ruled that] nuisance is a natural consequence of protest and that the state must understand this and not intervene unless everything goes too far. “
Below is the statement of the accused sent to Grapevine:
Declaration of Article 19 is charged with seven activists.
The first half of 2019 was a turning point in the fight for the rights of immigrants / refugees in Iceland when a group of individuals, most of whom were going through the process of asking for international protection in Iceland and has been held in an isolated refugee camp at Ásbrú, decided to fight together for their rights. With the support of people with residence permits in Iceland, the group organized a campaign to ensure that refugees in Iceland were granted basic human rights. Five demands were made:
1. No more expulsions,
2. Significant review for all,
Equal access to health care,
4. Real possibility of a work permit,
5. Closure of Ásbrú refugee camp.The campaign, which lasted for about 8 months or from December 2018 to July 2019, included protests, political actions, briefings, marches, letters to the authorities, fundraising events and much more. As we write this, we decided to stand in solidarity with the migrants by participating in this powerful struggle for their improved rights. At the same time, we were fighting for ourselves and the world we want to live in: a world where everyone, not just “Westerners”, enjoy freedom of movement, where xenophobia and racism are history and where borders are nothing but lines. on old cards that no one takes seriously anymore.
At first, the group was hopeful of making itself heard as politicians constantly talked about how they want to “address the system as a whole and not talk about individual issues”, which was exactly what the group was trying to do. But despite these statements by politicians, it soon became clear that the authorities had little interest in hearing what refugees and their supporters were saying. We were systematically ignored by the authorities and met with violence by the police; the use of pepper spray, bat and arrest was repeatedly applied to the group. Prominent refugees were arrested and deported without notice and those who could not be deported (due to a residence permit) were repeatedly arrested and detained.
There are two main reasons why we are writing this statement today. On the one hand, we would like to draw attention to the violent enforcement that takes place daily throughout Europe, including in Iceland, on the lives and bodies of people who are classified by the authorities as “refugees”. This violence manifests itself in the form of deportations, dehumanization, poor conditions, discrimination and poor legal status.
On the other hand, we want to shed light on why we took part in the political actions that led to the arrests and lawsuits we are now facing, as both of us are already convicted. The three of us were arrested on March 19 at a political performance where people stood in front of the main entrance of the Althingi with tape over their mouths and with their hands up so that the words “Stop the expulsions” could be seen written on the palms. The performance had not lasted more than 15 minutes before the police started trampling, pushing and arresting participants. Five of us were arrested during a small protest in the open lobby of the Ministry of Justice on April 5, 2019, within 15 minutes of the start of the protest. Both operations were intended to put pressure on the government to meet with representatives of the refugees, but before these operations the government had ignored all formal requests for a meeting for many months. The actions were carried out in solidarity and in accordance with the wishes of the refugees who led the protests and the campaign. Here, as elsewhere in the West, solidarity with refugees and migrants has been criminalized. In our case, the police used Article 19 of the Police Act to stifle solidarity and at the same time put an end to political expression and the right to protest in attendance, both of which are protected by the Constitution of Iceland and Europe. Convention on Human Rights.
Article 19 of the Police Act reads as follows: “The public is obliged to obey police instructions, such as traffic control or to keep law and order in public.” We find it difficult to understand what laws and rules were kept in these cases and we have not received no answers to the question as it is not clear from the police data whether it was an assessment of whether it was right to “keep laws and rules in the public eye” in the way it was done at the moment. To the best of our knowledge, no such assessment has been made and is not referred to in the indictment or in the court ruling.
At first, when we were arrested, we did not believe we could be charged with simply disobeying police orders. We believed that all such orders needed to have a legal basis, as it would be a very serious interference with our lives and freedoms. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that Article 19 has been applied to protesters in Iceland for years, especially against protests that the police and / or the authorities consider in some way undesirable or unpleasant. We consider it important to combat the application of Article 19 of the Police Act, which is now applied in accordance with the arbitrary decisions of individual police officers, and thus support the totalitarian power that the police may have at any time.
Furthermore, we consider it important for people who want to live in a free and just society to protect each other in the fight against all forms of oppression, violence and tyranny; whether it is against racism, homosexuality and transphobia, xenophobia, skills, corporations, global warming, patriarchy or white supremacy.
We therefore call for your solidarity with refugees around the world as well as for us who are being punished for our solidarity.
Solidarity is not a crime,
Solidarity is one of our weapons against oppression!