The Commissioner of the Reykjavík Area Police has denied a request to release a secret report on the Pots and Pans Revolution of late 2008 and early 2009, on the grounds that he does not have the legal authority to do so.
As reported, former police superintendent Geir Jón Þórisson authored an official report on the protests, which has remained an internal police document ever since – neither the general public nor members of parliament have seen the report, despite numerous requests that the report’s findings be made public.
Most recently, blogger Eva Hauksdóttir has filed charges against Commissioner of the Reykjavík Area Police Stefán Eiríksson for the police’s reticence, contending that the secrecy is a violation of freedom of information laws in Iceland.
Stefán, for this part, maintains that he simply does not have the legal authority to release the file, Vísir reports. Here he cites regulations on the treatment of personal information in police possession. According to this regulation, the police may only give other authorities access to personal information within their casework with the express permission of the Data Protection Authority. Without such permission, the police simply cannot release the report.
The Data Protection Authority has not yet responded to Stefán’s statement.
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