State Prosecutor Sigríður Friðjónsdóttir declared herself to be incompetent in taking a position on the request to reopen the 40-year-old ‘Guðmundur and Geirfinnur’ murder case in a letter to Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, who is also serves as interim minister of justice, yesterday.
Sigríður’s office received a formal request to reopen the case on September 4. She stated that the reason for her incompetence in this case is family relations; Örn Höskuldsson, the case’s primary investigator at the time, is Sigríður’s uncle by marriage, ruv.is reports.
Some of the people who, after originally stating that they were innocent were convicted and served time for the murders, decided to try and have their names cleared and seek justice following a report recommending that their cases be reopened, published in March, 2013.
Ragnar Aðalsteinsson, the lawyer representing two of the people in question, criticized Sigríður for not having declared her incompetence sooner.
“It will delay the process and it’s unclear for how long,” Ragnar claimed. Sigríður reasoned that she couldn’t have reacted to the request sooner; she had to wait until it had been formally sent to her office.
