From Iceland — Previous Gunshot Attacks On Party Offices Emerge

Previous Gunshot Attacks On Party Offices Emerge

Published January 22, 2021

John Pearson
Photo by
Denny Müller on Unsplash

This morning what are suspected to be bullet holes were discovered in the windows of the Reykjavík offices of Samfylkingin, the Social Democratic Alliance. But this is not the first time that the headquarters of an Icelandic political party appear to have literally come under fire.

Þórður Þórarinsson, Executive Director of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, (The Independence Party), confirmed that their premises have previously also been shot at overnight. And in 2019 the offices of Píratar, (The Pirate Party), and Viðreisn, (The Reform Party), suffered similar attacks. The headquarters of Píratar also suffered gunshot damage the year before that, according to RÚV.

Security at the offices of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn has been tightened since the attack. “Windows have been broken repeatedly in recent years, but it was only recently that it was discovered and confirmed that firearms had been used,” Þórður said. “Nobody thought of that to begin with.”

Representatives of both Vinstri Grænir, (The Left-Green Movement), and Miðflokkurinn, (The Centre Party), confirmed that their offices have never been attacked in this way. Karen Kjartansdóttir, Executive Director of Samfylkingin, confirmed that last night’s attack on their offices was the first.

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