Court convicts father over threats to daughter
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 on 09:46 in
Iceland
A father was convicted after telling police that he and his sons would have killed his daughter if the family lived in an Arab country, mbl.is reported. He said in court that he was describing what he called common Muslim culture in Arab countries and denied threatening her.
The Reykjanes District Court found that his remarks seriously threatened his daughter’s life, health and welfare. It sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended. The ruling was issued on November 1, 2024.
Eight people were charged in the case, and four were acquitted entirely. The father, the woman’s mother, her sister and her brother-in-law were convicted over assaults against her and her two daughters.
The dispute within the family involved the woman’s relationship with her boyfriend, who had sent the family photographs of them together. The court understood that she was not wearing a headscarf and had on a sleeveless or short-sleeved top. It found that the family considered the photographs indecent and incompatible with its religion and culture, and believed they harmed the family’s honour and the woman’s reputation as a married woman.
The father said the photographs had angered the family, but that they had not acted against or punished his daughter. He also told the court he had never met her boyfriend and had no opinion about the relationship, saying she was free to do as she wished.
In a police interview in February 2023, the father had said he was not the woman’s biological father, describing her as an orphan he had found as a tiny child and taken in. In court, he confirmed that he was her biological father. He said they had a good relationship and that she and her children visited and stayed overnight every weekend.
During questioning by police, he said that if his son had killed his daughter because of her “indecent” behaviour, that would have been all right, and that a girl who behaved that way deserved punishment. He acknowledged making the remarks in court, saying he had been describing what he considered common and accepted Muslim culture in Arab countries.