Four sexual assaults were reported in the greater Reykjavík area over Merchants’ weekend, according to RÚV. Charges have been filed in three of the cases. Four suspects were arrested, one of whom will be in custody until next Friday.
One sexual assault was reported at the Þjóðhátíð festival in Vestmannaeyjar islands, where 15,000 people gathered over the weekend. Police in Vestmannaeyjar say the victim and the assailant knew each other and the victim received appropriate care. The assailant was arrested shortly after the case was reported, and the investigation is going well.
Before the weekend, the Vestmannaeyjar police chief had announced that no information regarding sexual assaults would be provided to media until they had been investigated. That policy caused several bands to threaten to withdraw their participation in the festival unless a policy change be implemented. A compromise was reached at the last minute, where organizers of the festival sent out a statement detailing security measures at Þjóðhátíð, but there was no change in police policy.
Vísir reported on Monday that a minimum of two sexual assaults had been reported at the festival, but that could not be confirmed with police. According to Vísir, 13 assaults were reported at Þjóðhátíð. One of them was domestic violence and two of the assaults were serious. Numerous drug-related cases were reported.
The South Iceland police were busy over the weekend, mainly because of intoxicated guests at the Flúðir camp site, where thousands of people gathered. The camping ground was left in a bad condition with trash all over the place. Three individuals ended up in prison cells in Selfoss, mainly due to alcohol consumption and the inability to communicate, according to police.
Two drivers were stopped by police in South Iceland for driving under the influence.
The residents of North and East Iceland appear to have been better behaved than their countrymen in the south. This is the calmest Merchants’ Weekend in memory in Akureyri and Neskaupstaður, both in terms of wind speed and human behavior.
In the West Fjords, there were some fights, resulting in one person spending the night in prison.
No sexual assaults were reported in Akureyri, Selfoss, Neskaupstaður or Ísafjörður.
