MP questions government’s sentencing priorities

Júlíus Viggó Ólafsson, a substitute MP for the Independence Party, has questioned the government’s sentencing priorities, comparing proposed maximum prison terms for serious copyright offences and buying sex from a child. In a report published by mbl.is, he said the contrast highlighted what he called an injustice.

One bill would raise the maximum prison sentence for large-scale and repeated copyright violations to six years. A separate draft bill, presented by Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir, would increase the maximum for buying sex from a child from two years to four.

Júlíus said he did not object to protecting Icelandic cultural activity and production through stronger copyright penalties, but questioned the proposal when considered alongside sentences for other crimes. He said sentences for violent and sexual offences in Iceland were too lenient, particularly for sexual crimes, and argued that some offenders who cause lasting harm to victims receive too little punishment.

He cited maximum prison terms of one year for violating a restraining order, two years for destroying or damaging another person’s property or depriving them of it, and two years for forcing someone into suppression therapy. The maximum is three years for encouraging another person to die by suicide, four years for revenge porn and four years for sexual harassment of one’s own child. Buying sex from a child currently carries a maximum of two years, while the draft proposal would raise it to four; the copyright bill would set a six-year maximum for serious violations.

“What are the government’s priorities?” Júlíus asked. He also asked ministers whether, if maximum sentences are to be increased, the government should take stronger action against people who commit serious crimes against innocent people.