Gísli Freyr Valdórsson, the Minister of Interior’s former assistant, confessed yesterday to leaking a memo to the press which contained a number of false allegations about an asylum seeker who was facing deportation at the time. He received an eight-month suspended prison sentence this morning.
The memo was leaked in November 2013 and soon after the Minister of Interior, Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, was accused of trying to influence the ongoing police investigation, prompting Stefán Eiríksson, former chief of police in Reykjavík, to resign.
Gísli Freyr had maintained his innocence up until yesterday when the State Prosecutor provided the court with new evidence linking Gísli Freyr to the leak. He also claimed he had not known releasing the information to the press was illegal.
Hanna Birna released a statement yesterday addressing the matter. She said Gísli’s confession had come as a shock and that his actions were a serious breach of confidence.
Gísli Freyr Valdórsson, the Minister of Interior’s former assistant, confessed yesterday to leaking a memo to the press which contained a number of false allegations about an asylum seeker who was facing deportation at the time. He received an eight-month suspended prison sentence this morning.
The memo was leaked in November 2013 and soon after the Minister of Interior, Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, was accused of trying to influence the ongoing police investigation, prompting Stefán Eiríksson, former chief of police in Reykjavík, to resign.
Gísli Freyr had maintained his innocence up until yesterday when the State Prosecutor provided the court with new evidence linking Gísli Freyr to the leak. He also claimed he had not known releasing the information to the press was illegal.
Hanna Birna released a statement yesterday addressing the matter. She said Gísli’s confession had come as a shock and that his actions were a serious breach of confidence.
