„Counter-Jihad“ speaker's ethics suit dismissed

Robert Spencer.

Robert Spencer. Photo/ Wikipedia

Robert Spencer’s suit against The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, Rúv, has been dismissed by the Icelandic Journalists’ Association’s ethics committee as the deadline for complaint had run out when the suit was filed.

Spencer’s lawyer had asked for an exemption to this rule which the committee decided not to grant, as the regulation on time limits are unequivocal and as there is a precedent for similar decisions.

The decision has been published on the Association’s web page but it does not state exactly what complaint the suit entailed.

Spencer visited Iceland in May. He is a controversial speaker, writer and commentator whose main focus is to warn against the rise of Islam in the world.

Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir, journalist for RÚV, interviewed Spencer before a lecture he held at Grand Hotel Reykjavík. Among other things he asked Spencer about the Norwegian terrorist Ander Behring Breivik who murdered 77 people in 2011. Most of Breivik’s victims were young participants of a Worker’s Youth League summer camp on the island of Utøya.

During the interview, Sigríður asked if Spencer felt responsible or guilty in any way for Breivik’s acts, as Breivik quoted Spencer over 50 times in his manifesto. She asked the question twice, getting neither a firm yes or no before stating: “You haven’t answered my question,” to which Spencer replied: “Yes, I have.”

Finally, Spencer stated that he was in no way responsible for Breivik’s crimes.

Spencer “counter-jihad” message wasn’t the only thing news worthy during his visit as he also claimed to have been poisoned at a restaurant in Reykjavík during his stay. Spencer was invited to the country by Vakur, an association that claims to want to “strengthen a Indo-European cultural heritage in Iceland and work against movements that conflict with European values”. Spencer spoke to an audiance of over 400 at Grand Hotel.

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