Protesters Sprayed, Pushed To The Ground, Arrested

A small group of protesters were met with a water hose and physical force from parliament security, with one arrest for attempting a chalk drawing.

The protesters gathered in front of parliament today to point out the fact that it has been 888 days since parliament agreed to investigate the privatisation of the banks. This protest included attempting to make a chalk drawing of “888” in front of parliament.

As can be seen in the video below, this was met by a water hose from parliament security, spraying both the drawing and the protesters. A protester who told Stundin he attempted to point the hose away from the drawing was subsequently flipped into his back by the guard, as can be seen below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13pgJAOdZaQ&w=560&h=315]
Jæja, an umbrella group organising protests, later confirmed that when one protester attempted to write in chalk on the statue of Jón Sigurðsson that stands in front of parliament, six police officers descended on the man and arrested him at once.

The protester thrown to the ground, Sigurður Haraldsson, is himself a security guard. He told reporters that the throw was completely inappropriate.

“To use that kind of force against someone is completely out of bounds [in these circumstances],” he said. “I’ve been in many different situations, but police have never treated me like this.”