Elva Dögg Ásu- og Kristinsdóttir, legal representative of the three women who filed charges for rape at the Þjóðhátíð festival in the Westman Islands in early August, praises the criminal investigation police department in Selfoss for their efforts in finding the culprits.
Archive photo copyright Icelandic Photo Agency.
“I’m extremely satisfied with the Selfoss detectives,” Elva told Fréttablaðið. Two of the cases were solved relatively quickly but the third, against a minor, not until early this week, two and a half months after the incident occurred.
The police had encountered significant difficulties while investigating the case with telephone companies denying them access to data and an unclear screenshot from a CCTV camera published in the media not delivering any results.
“When the publication of the picture didn’t help I half expected that the case would never be solved,” stated Elva. “So I was incredibly relieved to hear that they had managed to track down the suspect.”
According to Elva, the department did a good job right from the start. “They have been very efficient. The first reaction was good, the communication with me excellent, as was the entire investigation. … They obviously don’t give up.”
Chief constable Oddur Árnason attributes the conclusion of the investigation to resilience. “It’s the dedicated work of detectives that delivered this result. After people had gathered all pieces of the puzzle, it eventually led us to a weak possibility which turned out to be right.”
Click here to read more about the reported incidences of rape at this year’s Þjóðhátíð festival.
ESA
