A glaring discrepancy has arisen between the records of the Directorate of Immigration regarding refugees who have been imprisoned, and those who know refugees personally.
Recently, MP for The Movement Birgitta Jónsdóttir posed the question, “How many foreigners have been arrested and held in custody over the past ten years on the suspicion of not revealing who they actually were?”. The answer given, from the Ministry of the Interior, detailed a list of asylum seekers who were arrested under that suspicion, almost all of whom were later released and deported.
However, DV reports that a number of people who know asylum seekers in Iceland personally were surprised to see that a number of refugees who they know have been in police custody were not included on this list.
Teitur Atlason, for one, points out that Iraqi Nour Al-Denbhjt, for example, was sentenced to 45 days in prison – yet his name is not on the official list of asylum seekers who have been held in police custody. Blogger Eva Hauksdóttir added that she knew at least three asylum seekers who had been arrested whose names did not appear on the list, either.
The reason for the discrepancy has not as yet been explained.
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