Appeal court revives criminal case against doctor Skúli

Iceland’s Court of Appeal has overturned the dismissal of the case against doctor Skúli Tómas Gunnlaugsson, mbl.is reported. The indictment will now be heard on its merits by the district court.

Skúli is charged with murder and violations of laws governing healthcare professionals. In the alternative, he faces charges of negligent homicide and violations of the same laws.

The case concerns the death of a woman in her seventies while she was being treated at the Suðurnes Health Institution in 2019.

The Reykjanes District Court dismissed the indictment on the grounds that a person may not be punished twice or subjected to two sets of proceedings for the same matter. Skúli had lost his medical licence after the case emerged.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the Director of Health’s revocation of Skúli’s medical licence did not constitute a punishment or a punitive sanction. The case will therefore return to the district court.