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Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphédinsson has called US Ambassador to Iceland Luis E. Arreaga to a meeting at the Foreign Ministry because of the demand of American authorities to be granted access to information on the online communication of Icelandic MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir, especially through the social network Twitter.
Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Skarphédinsson said he will probably not attend the meeting himself but that the ministry’s undersecretary will discuss the matter with Arreaga, Morgunbladid reports.
The minister added that Jónsdóttir has been invited to meet with the undersecretary and other employees of the ministry to explain her situation and potential risk that might be involved in her travels.
“I had a meeting on this matter in the ministry yesterday with the undersecretary and our international law specialist to, among other items, look into the MP’s situation,” Skarphédinsson said.
“We discussed, of course, in what way we would present our viewpoints but also how we can guarantee what I’d like to call her freedom of travel as a minister of parliament. She must be able to travel to the US without being harassed,” the minister explained.
Even though Jónsdóttir is clear about the seriousness of the matter, Skarphédinsson said it is still necessary to highlight it.
Speaker of Parliament Ásta Ragnheidur Jóhannesdóttir has requested a report on Jónsdóttir’s legal position in this case as an MP. She has, among other items, called for information from the International Parliamentarians Association.
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