Iceland’s Foreign Minister Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir said she would like investigate whether the Icelandic government has the authority to search aircrafts that land in Iceland and have flight numbers indicating that they may be transporting prisoners.
Gísladóttir appointed a committee last June to determine whether such aircrafts had ever landed at the airports in Keflavík and Reykjavík, and the committee concluded that such aircrafts had penetrated the Icelandic airspace on several occasions between September 2001 and July 2007, Morgunbladid reports.
“It is hardly possible to prove whether an illegal transport of convicts took place during these incidents because these airplanes have naturally been used for many other things,” the minister said.
But Gísladóttir added she would like to investigate whether there is a reason for the Icelandic government to tighten supervision with aircrafts carrying flight numbers connected to illegal transport of convicts and whether customs and police authorities could be permitted to board these airplanes in the future to make sure they are not violating any regulations.
Gísaldóttir said that to her recollection the Icelandic government has never permitted aircrafts transporting prisoners illegally to land in Iceland.
“It is our determined will to live up to our commitments related to human rights,” the minister said. “It is a very serious matter if convicts have been transported through Icelandic airspace to be tortured because it doesn’t coincide with international regulations or Iceland’s commitments. Torture is a very serious crime and is unconditionally prohibited by international laws.”
