Iceland Review: Government broke law denying Falun Gong entry says Ombudsman

The Icelandic government did not have adequate legal rights to deny the [practitioners] of the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong entry to Iceland during the official visit of the president of China to Iceland in 2002, reports Fréttabladid.

According to an opinion, just released by an ombudsman appointed by parliament, the government neither had the legal rights to prevent [practitioners] of Falun Gong from entering the country nor to authorize a private entity, Flugleiðum hf. (Icelandair), to carry out the decision by refusing to permit Falun Gong [practitioners] to board Icelandair planes.

Fréttabladid reports that during the Chinese president's visit to Iceland, Falun Gong [practitioners] had planned peaceful protests against the Chinese government's treatment of the Falun Gong movement in China.

[...]

Many Falun Gong [practitioners] arrived in Keflavík only to be deported. Twenty six protesters were transported to an elementary school in Njardvík where they were kept until it was possible to deport them. The Icelandic government received a list with the names of Falun Gong [practitioners] worldwide and this list was used to prevent the Falun Gong [practitioners] from boarding Icelandair planes at 10 airports in Europe and the US.

At the time, the government's decision was harshly criticized, according to Fréttabladid. Iceland was the first western nation to ban the Falun Gong from entering its country.

According to the Ombudsman it is up to the justice system to decide whether the Icelandic government is liable to pay damages to those involved.

The Althing Ombudsman monitors the administration of the state and local authorities and safeguards the rights of the citizens vis-à-vis the authorities.

http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew_0_

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version