Andri Árnason, the lawyer representing former Prime Minister of Iceland Geir H. Haarde in the High Court (Landsdómur) case which found him guilty in one out of four charges said it is likely that they will appeal his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Geir H. Haarde. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
Andri told Morgunblaðið that Geir’s rights may have been violated during the proceedings of his case and the case’s preparations.
“That [he] wasn’t able to express himself as an accused person during the investigation stage and that he couldn’t see the evidence until the court proceedings. Clarity in the pleadings is also lacking. The defense suffered as a consequence. It was also much more difficult to work on this case than it could have been because of how the trial was organized by Alþingi,” Andri reasoned.
Andri expects a final decision will be made in the coming weeks.
He added that foreign human rights lawyers have paid attention to the case and remarked that it is peculiar, given that the system on which it is based is more than 100 years old. “This arrangement is not in accordance with modern views on just court proceedings.”
Click here to read more about the verdict.
ESA
