Sit-ins at the Ministry of Justice and in front of the Alþingi: An interview with Elínborg Harpa Önundardóttir, Hildur Harðardóttir, and Julius Rothlaender

Translation: Hólmfríður María Bjarnardóttir

A journalist from the Student Paper spoke to Elínborg Harpa Önundardóttir, Hildur Harðardóttir and Julius Rothlaender, who have all taken part in the work of No Borders Iceland, which fights for better conditions for refugees and asylum seekers. Elínborg and Hildur were arrested in connection with the sit-ins at the Ministry of Justice that took place in March and April 2019, and Julius was arrested for taking part in protests in front of the Alþingi (the Icelandic parliament) a few weeks earlier. A total of seven people were arrested for disobeying police orders at the two protests.

Julius Rothlaender

Photo: Contributed

 On the fast track to being denied

Describing the events leading up to the protests, Hildur says a group of refugees living at Ásbrú, a refugee camp in Keflavík, decided to organize themselves and fight for their rights. They contacted No Borders for help and laid out five demands: No more deportations, thorough reviews of every case, equal access to health care, realistic opportunities to obtain work permits, and the closure of the refugee camp at Ásbrú. About half of the residents of Ásbrú participated, but with each protest, the number of people in the group gradually decreased, as participation seemed to negatively affect their applications for asylum. According to Elínborg, those who continued to protest felt they had nothing more to lose. Their cases “were on a conveyor belt, carrying one right after the other toward a denial.” Protesters put aside their own personal issues to fight for this common cause. Ministers often say that it’s not possible to examine individual refugee cases and that they must consider the bigger picture. The protest brought together a large group of people who wanted to examine the bigger picture with the authorities, but they were turned away. 

When asked about her involvement in the protest, Elínborg says, “I don’t want to live in a world where borders that have a great impact on people are the reality, and where the government and people in positions of power refuse to take responsibility for white supremacism and racism. The government is also not facing the fact that the system is based on oppressive ideology, and they make refugees out to be the problem instead of themselves.”

Hit one dead end after another

The protests at the Ministry of Justice were not the first, and many previous attempts were made to communicate the refugees’ demands. The residents of Ásbrú sent e-mails and No Borders had unsuccessfully tried to arrange meetings. They also held demonstrations, political performances, informational meetings, and fundraisers. The aim of the protest was to establish a dialogue between the Minister of Justice and the refugees, who had presented their demands and wanted to reach an agreement with the Minister. They received no response, and the protesters' experience was that the authorities did not care much about the situation, welfare, and well-being of refugees.

The protesters finally obtained a meeting with Áslaug Arna, the Minister of Justice, but it didn’t take place until November 2019, by which time the majority of the most active protesters had already been deported. Since the five demands were made, the situation with deportations has actually gotten worse, as in the case of the Albanian woman who was deported when she was 36 weeks pregnant, despite having a medical certificate stating that it was inadvisable to deport her due to her condition. A doctor consulted on behalf of the Directorate of Immigration signed a certificate saying it was safe for her to travel, but it later became clear that the doctor had never examined the woman and had simply signed the certificate at the request of immigration authorities. The protests did not bring about any changes to deportation protocols; authorities still use the Dublin Regulation to defend their actions without taking a critical look at it. But the protests did spark greater public awareness of deportations and the condition of facilities used to house refugees and asylum seekers.

Hildur Harðardóttir

Photo: Contributed

“You can use your freedom of expression elsewhere”

Protesters were arrested on the grounds of having violated Article 19 of the Penal Code, which refers to the obligation to obey police orders. However, protesters posed no threat, and protests are constitutionally protected. Sit-ins are also recognized by the European Court of Human Rights as falling under the freedom to protest. The courts that are suppose to protect equality and legitimacy didn’t examine the legality of the police’s instructions. Court rulings have not taken into account the freedom of protest and expression, but have simply assumed that the police's instructions were not followed.

When asked why the police are elevated above freedom of expression, interviewees say it is unclear why Article 19 of the Penal Code is allowed to trump the constitutional right to protest and freedom of expression, especially because the courts do not substantiate this decision in their rulings. It’s only speculation, but right now they believe the system is using court cases to discipline activists who they find "uncomfortable and/or disruptive." Article 19 is, in fact, the perfect way to do this, as one need only hesitate to follow police instructions in order to be arrested and charged. Article 19 also has the "advantage" of being very vaguely worded, so it can be stretched to justify just about anything, they say. No Borders has a recording from a protest in which a police officer orders protesters to move off the public sidewalk and is heard saying, "You can use your freedom of expression elsewhere."

Hildur says that this attitude is very descriptive of the police and the judicial system in general when it comes to fighting for refugee rights. The government and the police do not want to draw attention to the unpleasant fact that the system they work for and uphold is built on systematic racism and xenophobia. One manifestation of this is the mass deportation of refugees and the fact that the government pays little heed to their voices when they ask to be heard. Another manifestation that Hildur mentions is how the police reacted much more harshly to refugee protests than other protests. For example, at refugee protests in 2019, they used pepper spray and batons for the first time in nine years. The last time that happened was in January 2009, when tear gas was used during a protest in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. 

Elínborg Harpa Önundardóttir
Photo: Contributed

Vulnerable individuals criminalized

The judicial system seems to prefer defending the police instead of ruling in favor of protesters. Kristín Loftsdóttir, professor of anthropology at the University of Iceland, describes this well in her book Kynþáttafordómar í stuttu máli, in which she examines racist ideas. She mentions that people who apply for international protection are often criminalized in advance, i.e. their mere existence is criminalized and they are always considered suspicious. That’s why it’s so easy to take the next step and criminalize those who support these "suspicious" individuals by making them more reluctant to stand in solidarity.

When asked about the status of the charges and whether they foresee the end of the case, they say that in fact there should be two cases. Three individuals were arrested in front of the Alþingi and five at the Ministry of Justice. Generally, people arrested at the same protest have been tried together. But in the case of those arrested at these two protests, the state has split the cases without explanation, which multiplies the legal costs, both for the accused and for the state. It increases the pressure to fundraise and complicates discussions. It also makes it more difficult for people to show their support because they must now appear in court seven times instead of just twice.

It is also easier to attack individuals than a group, so they expect that the government deliberately made this decision in order to make the process more challenging. Two years have passed since the protests and the charges have been hanging over them the whole time. Four of them have been sentenced, one awaits the court’s ruling, and two have yet to go to court.

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