A middle-aged man in the small town of Ísafjörður in northwestern Iceland took his own life yesterday the day after his name and photograph were printed on the front page of DV, a tabloid-style newspaper which follows a “name and shame” policy on people suspected of criminal activity. Two teenage boys had alleged that the man had raped them and the local police had initiated an investigation, although no charges had been laid. The news-service NFS and Morgunbladid report that the brother of the deceased contacted the editorial offices of DV and told them that, in his opinion, the paper’s report had driven his brother to death. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
Arna Schram, Chair of the Icelandic Journalists’ Union, said that this tragic event will lead to a detailed examination of work methods and rules of ethics in Icelandic journalism.
