Journalists blast legal gagging order on paper covering PM's finances

The Reykjavik District Commissioner accepted the injunction made by Glitnir …

The Reykjavik District Commissioner accepted the injunction made by Glitnir Hold Co on the news reports. mbl.is/Friðrik Tryggvason

The Reykjavik District Commissioner (Sýslumaður) accepted a demand made by the bankruptcy estate of Glitnir bank to place an injunction on all news coverage made by Stundin and Reykjavik Media based on documents from the collapsed bank. 

The injunction concerns all private dealings of numerous ex clients of Glitnir bank, one of them being Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson who has recently come under fire for selling his shares in the bank just before Iceland's economic crash. 

This decision has been blasted by Icelandic journalists and an official statement was published by the Icelandic Press Union condemning this action. 

"We condemn these actions and we believe that the district commissioner has no place in the office of an Icelandic media company.  These actions are an attack on the freedom of expression and the right held by journalists to obtain documents and create news coverage from them. Bank secrecy doesn't serve anyone other than those who have something to hide," writes Hjálmar Jónsson, director of the Press Union. 

 

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