Lawyer says minister is fulfilling police wish list

Supreme Court attorney Sveinn Andri Sveinsson has criticised proposed amendments to Iceland’s criminal procedure laws, saying they would grant police excessive powers, mbl.is reported.

“It is a fundamental misunderstanding that giving these kinds of preventive powers and extending remand custody will help in the fight against organised crime. It is simply nonsense,” Sveinn Andri said.

The proposed changes include extending remand custody and allowing police to begin investigative measures before obtaining a judge’s authorisation.

“As this has been presented, I do not like it at all. It is clear that the police have had some kind of wish list, and appear set to receive it in the form of this bill,” he said.

One example is a proposed power to keep people in remand custody for up to six months without an indictment being issued, for example when organised criminal activity is suspected.

Sveinn Andri called the proposal highly dangerous. He said police had generally handled their existing powers carelessly, and that it could be easy to label many offences as organised criminal activity if only two or three people were involved.

He added that, during his 35 years as a defence lawyer, he had repeatedly seen remand custody used to pressure people into giving statements. Research had also shown that prolonged solitary confinement could cause lasting health problems, he said.

Sveinn Andri also criticised plans to allow police to carry out investigative measures before receiving judicial approval.

“This would discard people’s right to keep their financial affairs private. It would discard people’s right to peace in their homes and to have the privacy of their homes respected, because police investigative interests would be placed above these fundamental interests,” he said.

Asked about the argument that broader investigative powers were necessary to combat organised criminal activity, Sveinn Andri rejected it.

“If we are behind other countries in the fight against organised crime groups, it is simply because the police are too poorly organised. The police should be reorganised rather than given more time to linger over cases,” he said.

He said the police faced serious internal problems, including poor organisation and too many people who did nothing, as well as unnecessary middle managers. Reorganising criminal investigations was the task that needed to be undertaken, he said.