Asylum seeker supports IS
Screenshot from the Islamic State video showing the execution of David Haines. AFP
The Supreme Court has upheld the ruling of the District Court of Reykjavik rejecting the request of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police to detain two asylum seekers. During police questioning, one of the asylum seekers revealed his support for Islamic State and his desire to take part in holy war.
The Supreme Court ruling says that, although the person in question has indeed displayed behaviour suggesting that he may be dangerous, the Metropolitan Police has not had recourse to any more lenient measures than custody and therefore their request must be rejected. Foreigners may be held in custody only in order to achieve a stated legal objective and only if other more lenient methods could not be used to the same end.
In cases such as this, a foreign national may receive a police order to remain within a certain designated area – such as a given district or certain available accommodation – rather than being held in custody. Since the police had not pursued this avenue, their request was rejected.
Watched executions online
The District Court’s ruling reads: “The defendant has at times displayed threatening behaviour which suggests he may be harmful to himself, as described in the plaintiff’s report. The answers given by the defendant during questioning indicate that he is mentally unstable and has apparently been accessing online footage of atrocities committed by fundamentalist terrorists.”
When asked by police if he supported the methods used by the IS terrorist group, the man replied that he loved Islamic State and that the group did not stand for war or torture. He also expressed his desire to take party in holy war.
“The plaintiff’s report states that the Child Protection Agency had authorised police to inspect one of its computers which the defendant had used while he was accommodated there. These checks revealed that the defendant had watched a great deal of footage related to terrorist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram, including executions,” the District Court ruling states.
According to the statement of an employee of the Directorate of Immigration and an interpreter present at the meeting, the asylum seeker in question has threatened to blow up thousands of people if he were to be deported from Iceland.
