Six Icelanders face charges in Reykholt violence case

Six people are facing charges in what prosecutors describe as a serious assault, unlawful detention and extortion case linked to an attack on a foreign man at his home in Reykholt, in Biskupstungur, mbl.is reports.

The fourth day of the main trial began on Thursday. The case dates back to April 2024, when a group allegedly attacked the man, who is of Palestinian origin and holds Maltese citizenship.

According to the indictment, five men and one woman were involved. They are charged with, among other offences, an especially dangerous and serious assault, deprivation of liberty, unlawful coercion and robbery.

The six defendants

The defendants are Sigurður Gunnar Ásgeirsson, the man’s landlord; Ingunn Rut Sigurðardóttir, Sigurður’s daughter and Andri Már Mortensen Birgisson’s fiancée; Andri Már Mortensen Birgisson; his brother, Pétur Már Mortensen Birgisson; Níels Pálmar Benediktsson; and Halldór Logi Sigurðsson.

Níels and Halldór are connected to Andri but are not related to the family group.

Man lost 15 teeth

The trial has indicated that the case concerned rent arrears allegedly owed by the man to Sigurður.

The indictment states that the man was tied up and subjected to repeated and serious violence at his home. He was allegedly threatened with a knife and a shotgun, while the group demanded access to his electronic identification and bank accounts.

He was also allegedly threatened with being placed on a boat to Greenland and thrown overboard.

Electronic identification was reportedly installed on his phone through deception, after which nearly 18 million Icelandic krónur was transferred from his bank account. The man was then forced to leave the country.

He was later found in poor condition in Malta. According to the indictment, he suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs and head injuries, and lost 15 teeth.

Different accounts from defendants

The defendants have given differing accounts of the events. Andri Már Mortensen Birgisson declined to testify in court.

The first day of the trial was spent listening to recordings of phone calls from Andri’s phone. The recordings have been described as an unprecedented incident in the courtroom.

A defence lawyer told mbl.is that Andri had installed an application on his phone to record calls, allowing police to obtain the audio recordings. In them, Andri can be heard saying that he is “in the middle of a deprivation of liberty” and discussing the events, violence and actions against the man with others.

Sigurður Gunnar Ásgeirsson denies the charges. He says he neither assaulted the man nor threatened him with a chainsaw or with being thrown overboard near Greenland. He has cited memory loss regarding various details.