MP questions decision to overturn deportation order

Independence Party MP Jón Pétur Zimsen has criticised a decision to overturn the deportation of an Albanian citizen, saying it is strange that Icelandic society does not get the benefit of the doubt when deportation is considered necessary for state security or the public interest, mbl.is reported.

The Immigration Appeals Board overturned a decision by the Directorate of Immigration to deport the man and bar him from returning to Iceland for 12 years. Zimsen was responding to reports of the ruling and is also first deputy chair of Alþingi’s General and Education Committee.

The man had been convicted of homicide in Albania and was a suspect in a case concerning an alleged sexual offence against a child in Iceland. The board found that the earlier conviction alone was not enough to justify deportation on the grounds used by the Directorate. It also said the evidence in the sexual-offence case was limited and that the police assessment of the threat posed by the man was inadequate.

“Of course we live in a state governed by the rule of law, but it seems strange that Icelandic society does not get the benefit of the doubt,” Zimsen told mbl.is. He said it was unusual that alleged serious crimes were not considered sufficient reason to deport the man.

“I think this is a very high threshold for the rights people have here. If people like this cannot be deported, then who is?” he said. He added that the ruling sent the wrong message and argued that stronger signals should be sent to offenders that conduct such as the man’s could lead to deportation.