From Iceland — Off Duty Police Allegedly Harrass Reykjavik Nine Defendants

Off Duty Police Allegedly Harrass Reykjavik Nine Defendants

Published February 14, 2011

DV is reporting that a group of off-duty policemen followed one of the Reykjavík Nine into a bar and harrassed him in front of eyewitnesses.
According to DV, a group of five men came into the bar Hemmi og Valdi at about 2:30 AM last Saturday. A witness on the scene, Birkir Björns Halldórsson, said that the men approached the victim with the “obvious intention” of assaulting him. When the witness said he was going to call the police, one of the men in the group allegedly responded, “We are the police.” The witness said that he personally knew two of the officers in the group.
Snorri Páll Jónsson and Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttir, two of the Reykjavík Nine, were the object of the men’s attention. Earlier that day, on Friday, Snorri had taken the stand at the trial of the Reykjavík Nine. Neither Snorri nor Steinunn would comment to DV on the incident.
“It was really ridiculous to witness,” Birkir told DV. “I saw that they were in a fighting mood and I told them to leave. They told me to be quiet and not give them any attitude.”
The police allegedly took care not to physically assault Snorri, but they did prevent him from leaving. The doorman for Hlemmi og Valdi had to call for assistance from doormen at the bar Oliver, across the street. It was not until Birkir threatened to start recording the incident that the men left.

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