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grapevine

An Icelander who was arrested and sentenced in Lithuania for possessing a kilo of marijuana is now walking free in Iceland.
Vísir reports that in the summer of 2010, Erlingur Örn Arnarson was arrested after a search of his home in Vilnius turned up a kilo of marijuana, as well as some smaller quantities of cocaine and amphetamine.
Erlingur confessed to the crime, but said that he was grappling with a severe drug addiction, and that the kilo of marijuana was for personal use. He was sentenced in Lithuania to eleven years in prison. While Erlingur did not appeal, he was deported to Iceland to continue his sentence. The president’s office has pardoned 45 individuals since 1996. Convicts seeking a pardon put in their request through the Ministry of the Interior. The President of Iceland and the Minister of the Interior are both required to sign the pardon.