Icelanders sentenced as part of the 2008 banking collapse have received recognition from the Icelandic state that they didn’t receive a fair trial. The cases were apparently settled out of court between the Icelandic state and the defendants.
As reported in a press release from the European Convention on Human Rights, the Icelandic state will pay each defendant €12,000 each in damages and cover any costs incurred during the court cases. Those named were Margrét Guðjónsdóttir, Karl Emil Wernersson, Ívar Guðjónsson, Sigurþór Charles Guðmundsson, and Sigurjón Þorvaldur Árnason.
It was claimed that the manner in which the Supreme Court of Iceland overturned or partially overturned their acquittals broke their right to a fair trial, according to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The defendants’ criminal convictions are related to the 2008 financial crisis in Iceland, with a range of offenses related to their abuse of power and negligence of duties within the banking industry.
The banking collapse in Iceland was the largest experienced by any country in economic history, which led to severe economic depression and political unrest between 2008 and 2010.
