The ruling of Reykjavík’s District Court is a sentence for the sake of appearances. It is not at all in accordance with the serious accusations that we have had to live with for the last year. It is soft enough to tranquillize people’s possible fury but at the same time, tough enough to fulfill the State’s need to punish, cover its shame, and encourage continuing persecution of its political opponents.
We have this to say about the case:
The Parliament (Alþingi) is a disgrace to Iceland’s society and holds the original responsibility for this case. Numerous parliamentarians and parliament staff members—particularly the speaker of parliament, the prosecution’s cheerleader—actively participated in delivering slander about us. The tiny attempts of a handful of parliamentarians to counterbalance this campaign of lies were silenced by the same people who most actively lied. Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and company: We despise your opportunistic and desperate attempt to save your own skin at the last minute.
The office of the State Prosecution is a remotely operated persecutor and acted with the instructions of those who really wanted us sentenced. When the office gets complaints against The State (e.g. the police), the cases are usually dismissed because of an unlikely conviction. That rule however does not apply when The State is the accuser.
The Court, which is hired by those in power, making it highly political, handed the authority of the lawsuit to the police, from day one. The truth is often stranger than fiction: Those who controlled the trial were the same people who in the end testified against us.
The largest media outlets’ editors are the Goebbels’ of the Icelandic state and global capitalism, and they sentenced us as soon as the accusations were published. According to that political judgment they intended to steer the discussion to the direction of condemnation, not only by the courts, but also by the society. At the same time, they cried out and tried to push the nation’s emotional buttons when the State intervened with the business of suit-dressed money and power-figures. Thus they revealed their attitude towards the alleged justice of the constitutional state. Justice that is never supposed to touch those who sit at the top of the pyramid.
Society is traditionally co-dependent and it is in a state of denial: The State cannot be wrong. It shows apathy when it has the chance to be effective. But as the court case continued, more and more people started to question The State’s apparent position against its political opponents. As a result, we witnessed an uncommon restraint towards The States’ arm of enforcement. Despite attempts of the above-mentioned parties to control and mislead the discussion, people managed to reveal the error and display an inconvenient but true picture of the case.
We are convinced that the solidarity we were shown in many different ways, both in Iceland and abroad, was crucial. We are deeply thankful for all that support. At the same time we encourage people to continue the same restraint against the state and to turn the defense into attacks: bombard the power elite’s colossus as well as all other institutions that preserve the social structure we live in.
Finally, we declare complete support with all the people that have stood, currently stand and will stand in our footsteps, wherever in the world.
Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir
Snorri Páll Jónsson
Þór Sigurðsson
Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttir
Ragnheiður Esther Briem
Teitur Ársælsson
Jón Benedikt Hólm
Andri Lemarquis
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