A boycott has been organised against a series of Icelandic chain shops, in response to their owner’s decision to not sell a magazine featuring an article critical of strip clubs.
The incident in question dates to June 2007, when an issue of the magazine Ísafold featured an article about the strip club Goldfinger, quoting employees at the club as saying illegal activities went on there. As many readers may know, the journalist who wrote the article was originally sued for slander and made to pay damages, but she – along with another journalist – appealed their case to the European Court of Human Rights, where they won their case against the Icelandic government.
In response, a boycott has been launched against the stores Krónan, Nóatún, Elko and Byko. These stores are owned by Jón Helgi Guðmundsson, who also owns the company Kaupás. At the time the Ísafold ran the Goldfinger story, Kaupás refused to sell the issue in any of their stores.
The organisers of the boycott say its purpose is to fight for freedom of expression, as the journalists in question were contributing to the ongoing discussion in Iceland at the time about an important societal matter, as an international court has determined. In order to help ensure that journalists will not again be silenced, the organisers contend, the public is encouraged not to spend their money in shops being run by someone who tried to stifle dialogue.
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