Kristjánsdóttir declines committee meeting

Former Minister of the Interior Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir has declined a meeting with the Constitutional and Supervisory Committee  in relation to the Tony Omos case. She does not wish to put forward any additional information than what she has already disclosed on the matter. 

In her letter of decline, Kristjánsdóttir says that the committee had given her until March 17th to reply whether she will answer their questions at the aforementioned meeting. She explains that seeing as she will not return to Parliament until the middle of April she will be referring to the information already available in the matter. 

The leak in the matter of asylum seeker Tony Omos was eventually traced to the Ministry of the Interior and Kristjánsdóttir former assistant Gísli Freyr Valdórsson and he subsequently received a sentence. 

"As I have already repeated I was not informed of his (Valdórsson's) involvement until a few days before. In the duration of that year in which the case was discussed I always tried to answer all questions relating to it in accordance with the information which I had at the time. This also applies to my answers to MP's at Parliament and to members of the  Constitutional and Supervisory Committee when I met with them," writes Kristjánsdóttir. "As I no longer occupy the office of Minister of the Interior, and that I have answered the Ombudsman in four formal letters and am on leave from Parliamentary duties at the moment I refer to the above and also wish the committee well in their work but at the same time I do not wish to put any further information forward on the matter."

Chairman of the committee, Ögmundur Jónasson says that this is a disappointment. "I had hoped that the former Minister would appear before the committee to clarify certain matters, or do so in a written manner, so one could say that this is somewhat of a disappointment."

Related stories:

http://www.mbl.is/english/politics_and_society/2015/01/27/independence_party_still_supports_kristjansdottir/

http://www.mbl.is/english/politics_and_society/2015/01/23/former_minister_s_conduct_criticized/

http://www.mbl.is/english/politics_and_society/2014/11/21/minister_of_the_interior_to_resign/