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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Iceland - Presence of Hells Angels in Iceland a Turning Point

OFF THE WIRE
The Icelandic police will be granted increased authoritiy to uproot crime gangs...
The recognition of MC Iceland as a Hells Angels member association is a turning point, according to Arnar Jensson, Iceland’s contact at Europol. He said Hells Angels are being investigated by Europol as the motorcycle club is believed to have part in organized crime.
“An association which many countries define as an organized criminal organization now has operations out in the open in Iceland, publicly, in fact. It is a big challenge for the authorities to tackle that,” Jensson told Morgunbladid.
“Where motorcycle clubs have become members of Hells Angels or the number of Hells Angels clubs have increased, the crime rate has increased as well, especially violent crimes and the armament of criminal groups. That’s the experience everywhere in Europe,” Jensson stated.
He said police authorities in Europe are mostly concerned about the increased violence and armament, which comes with Hells Angels. For example, threats to keep witnesses quiet in cases related to members of the association.
Struggle between different clubs and crime groups also follow Hells Angels as examples from Scandinavia have shown, Jensson added. “I believe it’s a given that the development will be similar here.”
Einar “Boom” Marteinsson, president of Hells Angels MC Iceland, denied that club members are involved in criminal activities. “We are a legally registered organization in Iceland and the agenda is pretty simple: We are interested in motorcycles.”
In related news, Minister of the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson has decided to grant the police increased authority to uproot crime gangs.
He said on RÚV’s news magazine Kastljós last night that he knows of cases where people are being extorted because of threats that members of their family will be harmed if they don’t pay.
“This is what is practiced by the mafia; this is not the society we want,” the minister reasoned.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Presence_of_Hells_Angels_in_Iceland_a_Turning_Point_0_374977.news.aspx

MC Iceland Members Deported from Norway
Eight members of MC Iceland who were deported from Norway arrived in Iceland late last night. They went to Norway on Friday with the intention of having their motorcycle club inducted into the Hells Angels.
According to the legal firm which has protected their interests in Norway, they boarded the plane on their own accord and a police escort wasn’t necessary, Morgunbladid reports.
The men told ruv.is that they had been in isolation in Oslo since they arrived there on Friday morning.
They added that they had received confirmation before they departed Oslo that they had become fully-registered Hells Angels members but would otherwise not comment to the media.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/MC_Iceland_Members_Deported_from_Norway_0_374940.news.aspx

Iceland to Fight Influx of Crime Gangs

Minister of the Interior Ögmundur Jónasson will propose at a cabinet meeting today that the police should be granted increased funding to keep organized crime in Iceland under control and fight both domestic and foreign crime gangs.
“The police department has been subject to cutbacks […], which has compromised its work,” the minister explained at a press conference which he held along with the police’s and customs’ senior officers yesterday. “We will now prioritize against violence.”
A bill will be submitted to the Icelandic parliament, Althingi, in the coming days which proposes the police be given increased legal authority in their investigations.
There are indications that organized crime is on the rise in Iceland with growing tension in the criminal world, Morgunbladid reports.
The police stated at yesterday’s press conference that the motorcycle club MC Iceland will gain full membership to Hells Angels next weekend.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news//Iceland_to_Fight_Influx_of_Crime_Gangs_0_374838.news.aspx

Minister of Justice to Bar Hells Angels from Iceland

Danish Minister of Justice Lars Barfoed is not going to look into whether the Danish Constitution can be used to ban the operations of motorcycle clubs such as Hells Angels in Denmark.
However, his Icelandic counterpart, Ragna Árnadóttir (pictured), is keen on using the Icelandic Constitution to prevent the club from launching operations in Iceland, visir.is reports.
Árnadóttir said she is surprised that Danish authorities believe that a dubious organization must already be rooted in a society and have begun criminal activity before actions can be taken. “It is very interesting that the Danish believe they cannot be banned before harm is done,” the minister said.
She added that Icelandic authorities are gravely concerned about the fact that Iceland might be about to become part of an international criminal community.
“Therefore we have been looking at possible ways to prevent it,” Árnadóttir explained, referring to the government looking into whether an organization which has an unlawful purpose can be dissolved as stated in the Icelandic Constitution.
“We want to see if it can be done because we cannot sit around without taking action and watch this happen,” the minister said.
Barfoed bases his conclusion on a report conducted by the Danish State Attorney and the National Police Commissioner, which was intended to find out whether Hells Angels is dangerous and that criminal activity is their goal.
They discovered that such an organization can only be dissolved provided it is proven that it is their defined goal to undertake criminal activities and violent practices. The report states that it is difficult to find such proof.
The leader of the Hells Angels club in Norway has sued the Icelandic state for deporting him.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id=359191

Norwegian Hells Angel Sues Iceland for Deportation.
The leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Norway Leif Ivar Kristiansen has filed a lawsuit against the Icelandic state to the Icelandic Ministry for Justice and Human Rights for what he calls unfounded deportation on February 8.
Kristiansen was arrested upon his arrival to the country at Keflavík International Airport. The Directorate of Immigration decided to deny him entrance to the country, placed him in custody and sent him back to Norway the following day, ruv.is reports.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights confirmed the directorate’s decision. It will take a position in regard to the lawsuit in the coming weeks. Kristiansen’s lawsuit against the Icelandic state will be handled by the district court system.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id=358766