Icelandic court jails man for abusing wife and five children

A Palestinian man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for abusing and threatening his wife and five children after they joined him in Iceland, Morgunblaðið reported. He was also ordered to pay them a total of 9.75 million Icelandic krónur in compensation.

The man threatened to kill his wife if she greeted men, abused the children and sent relatives abroad photographs of his daughter without a headscarf, accompanied by disparaging comments about the girl and her mother. He cited cultural expectations and rules for the behaviour of married women when explaining his conduct.

The woman fled Gaza and said she believed her husband would never change. She considered family reunification in Iceland her only chance to save the children from the war, and hoped Icelandic laws and human rights protections would help her. She left the family home less than a week after arriving in Iceland.

The family’s state of fear and intimidation continued, according to the Reykjanes District Court, until the man was remanded in custody a year later. He had arrived in Iceland in September 2022 and received international protection. His wife and children arrived through family reunification on March 8, 2024.

The couple’s marriage had been arranged by their families, and the woman was under 18 when they married. Iceland has not recognised the marriage because of her age at the time, although both told the court they remained married under the rules of their home country.

Morgunblaðið described the case as one involving severe domestic abuse with clear features of honour-based abuse: coercive control justified by cultural demands for women’s submission, extending beyond the home and across national borders. The newspaper said the case was part of its coverage of extremist religious views, honour-based abuse and social control, and noted that other cases with similar features have come before Icelandic police in recent years.

The article also notes that the family fled a war in Gaza that has been underway since 2023, following an attack by Hamas members in which more than 1,000 people in Israel were killed, mutilated or raped.