Audio recordings show Andri directed Reykholt abduction

Phone recordings and testimony from co-defendants were key to a South Iceland District Court ruling that Andri had planned and directed the abduction of a man in Reykholt in April 2024, mbl.is reported.

All six defendants were convicted of involvement in the man’s unlawful confinement and coercion. Andri was the only one also convicted of assault and robbery. The court said there was not enough evidence that the other defendants had assaulted the man or intended the violence he suffered.

The man was held from the evening of Friday, April 19, until he was released at Keflavik Airport around midnight on Monday, April 22. He was sent against his will to France and then Malta. During his confinement, 17.66 million krónur was transferred from his accounts to four defendants.

In its ruling, issued on October 12, the court assessed each defendant’s role separately, distinguishing between responsibility for the confinement, the violence and the handling of the money.

The court found shortcomings in the victim’s testimony that reduced its evidentiary value. Among other things, he mistakenly believed two defendants had been at his home from the start, while other evidence showed they arrived later. It was also unclear who had done what and when. The court noted that an identification procedure might have clarified some details, but none had been conducted, and said the prosecution bore responsibility for that omission.

The court did not consider it likely that the victim had deliberately lied, finding that trauma was a more likely explanation for the shortcomings. Even so, it said his testimony alone was not enough to convict defendants of specific acts.

Andri was sentenced to eight years in prison for assault, unlawful coercion, unlawful confinement, robbery, money laundering, theft and weapons offences. The court found that recordings and co-defendants’ testimony showed he had initiated and directed events, brought the others to Reykholt and given them instructions they followed.

The court found that Andri had struck the victim in the face or head and treated those blows as the cause of fractures to his nose and jaw. It was not proven who caused the other injuries. The assault was therefore treated under a less serious provision than the charge of particularly dangerous assault.

The court also found that Andri had directed the confinement, made the transfers and bought plane tickets for the victim using his money. It rejected the claim that the victim had given the money voluntarily, finding that it had been obtained through violence and threats and amounted to robbery.