Bára Halldórsdóttir, the whistleblower who recorded six members of Parliament speaking abusively about their colleagues in a public space, still has outstanding legal fees and other expenses to contend with. The general public has rallied their support, establishing a Karolina Fund project to help cover her expenses.
As reported, Bára was in the bar Klaustur on the evening of November 20th when she overheard six MPs—Bergþór Ólason, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and Anna Kolbrún Árnadóttir of the Centre Party, with Karl Gauti Hjaltason and Ólafur Ísleifsson of the People’s Party—speaking abusively about their female colleagues, making jokes at the expense of the queer and the disabled, and Gunnar Bragi bragging about engaging in quid pro quo. She recorded their conversation from a distance, and subsequently sent the recordings on to select media outlets.
In the ensuing legal battle that the four Centre Party MPs launched against her, the courts ultimately ruled on her side. While most of her legal expenses have been covered, there was still an outstanding balance that amounted to 10% of the total, or 300,000 ISK.
At the time of this writing, the fund has already reached 80% of its goal, with a whole 30 days remaining. At the same time, the text of the fund points out that Bára incurred other costs during this legal fight, including for transportation, increased medical costs due to the stress, and other expenses, so anything that runs over the goal will go to covering these expenses. Those living in Iceland can also use direct deposit—using the account number 0303-26-2817 and the kennitala 171279-5779.
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