The Court of Appeal has confirmed the verdict of the District Court of Reykjavík regarding the Klaustur case, Vísir.is reports. Miðflokkurinn (The Centre Party) MP’s had charged Bára Halldórsdóttir for her part in the Klaustur case. The MP’s requested that an examination of witnesses take place in the courtroom and that a gathering of evidence takes place. The verdict confirms that this will not take place.
Bára recorded the MP’s conversation at Klaustur bar, where they bad-mouthed fellow MP’s, spoke of favouritism regarding ambassadorial positions, and laughed at disabled people. More here.
“This is just fine, at least I have received an answer at this level. Then I can start to think about what the Data Protection Authority feels about the case. They were going to examine it after this verdict,” Bára stated. “It’s all been incredibly slow since the District Court put out the verdict. But this is one of the troublesome twists out of the way.”
All legal costs will be handled by the MP’s, which are Bergþór Ólason, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, and Anna Kolbrún Árnadóttir. In their original charge against Bára, it is stated certain things imply that Bára acted with clear intent, and that recording the MP’s conversation at the bar was a preconceived goal of hers.
The foursome’s lawyer states that the recordings are a breach of the individual’s right to privacy. He also states that recordings from Alþingi (the parliament) and Dómskirkjan security cameras might shed a light on the case. They claim the conversation was a private one. “They rightfully expected that their conversation was not spied on, not to mention recorded. Nothing about the surroundings gave them cause to believe anything else. There were few people there and guests sat a distance away from them,” states part of their statement read in the District Court.
Bára originally released the recordings on a condition of anonymity, but she eventually decided to step forward. She did so after protests against the Klaustur MP’s took place in front of Alþingi. Bára felt it was important that people were aware that the person who recorded them was indirectly targeted with the MP’s speech.
