A crowd of supporters clapped and cheered for Bára Halldórsdóttir, responsible for the now-infamous Klaustur recordings, when she appeared in court yesterday shortly after 3.00pm. It remains unclear whether the four MPs whose sexist, ableist, and homophobic comments Bára recorded at a Reykjavík bar and sent to media will formally file a case against her, RÚV reports.
Suspect collaborators
Reimar Pétursson, representing the four MPs in the District Court of Reykjavík today, stated his clients believe the recording of their conversation at Klaustur bar was a gross violation of their right to privacy. Reimar said they were reviewing whether to file a lawsuit and by requesting permission to call on witness testimony, they wanted to confirm how the recording had been carried out. “It should be possible to see exactly how the defendant committed this violation,” he stated, adding that it was important to see whether Bára hid the fact she was recording from the parties present or whether she had any collaborators. Reimar stated that his clients do not believe Bára’s own account of the event to be credible.
Nothing to hide
Auður Tinna Aðalbjarnardóttir, Bára’s lawyer, opposed the MPs’ demand for witness testimony and surveillance footage. She pointed to the fact that Bára has discussed the events of the evening in detail in media and has confirmed her willingness to do so in court, and that the MPs would need very strong legal reasons to request additional data. She added that the Data Protection Authority was already investigating the case at the request of the MPs, and that they or the police are the correct party to consider such data, not the court. The judge stated a ruling would be made before the end of the week.
“Just me and my coffee cup”
After leaving the courtroom, Bára insisted to reporters that she had neither collaborators nor company at Klaustur bar on the night she made the recording, stating it was “just me and my coffee cup.” She said she still feels in the dark about the MPs intentions after the court appearance. “I thought it would be much clearer what this is all about when I walked out but I’m still not any closer to that except that I think the plaintiff wants to get data,” she stated.
