This weekend saw the revelation that a Virginia court has, on behalf of the US government, ordered the communications website Twitter to hand over all personal information about certain individuals linked to Wikileaks; including Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir.
Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the American ambassador Luis E. Arreaga to a meeting this morning after the American government ordered personal information to be released by Twitter in the run-up to a possible lawsuit against Wikileaks. One of the people affected is Birgitta Jonsdottir, a sitting member of parliament for The Movement and a member of the Foreign Policy Committee.
The ministry undersecretary and an international law specialist sat the meeting on behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Visir.is reports.
They called for more information from Washington and expressed their deep concern that a criminal investigation should be directed at a sitting member of the Althingi parliament in such a manner. Birgitta Jonsdottir enjoys parliamentary immunity within Iceland and her colleagues in Althingi are supporting her, for the most part.
According to Urdur Gunnarsdottir, information officer at the Ministry, the Icelandic side also stressed to the US ambassador that there should be no further hindrance to Jonsdottir’s political work; including the freedom to travel and the ability to take full part in international political discussions.
Visir reported earlier that Jonsdottir is on her way to Canada to give a speech on the progress of the Iceland Modern Media Initiative (an idea put forward by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, under which Iceland hopes to become a haven for legally-enshrined free speech). Her plans changed at the last minute and she will now change flights in London instead of in the USA, as had been her original travel itinerary.
In gathering evidence for a possible legal case against Wikileaks, there has so far been no indication that Birgitta Jonsdottir personally did anything illegal — a fact which makes the case particularly strange. It is highly unusual for a government to target a serving parliamentarian in an allied nation in this way. Jonsdottir is in consultation with American lawyers to appeal the court’s decision and the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs has committed to defending her.
Here is interview with the before Wikileaks site cryptome.org founder :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMRUiB_8tTc John Young interview
he talks about the tactics of US spooks with Russia Today.
And here’s a truly good documentary on Wiki leaks from co-operation between young gun Jesper Huor and veteran Bosse Lindquist for Swedish SVT ( spot the carefully chosen background music in key scenes ) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhTfOL9_HBE ?WikiRebels – The Documentary (1/4)?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRF3gYxz1XQ Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6TRb40Km6A Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8imkYy_hJ4E Part 4
wikileaks represents the 21st century realities of information publishing. Wether we like it or not, confidential information cannot be protected by the courts once one party decide to leak it.
Sovereign states may try and find and prosecute the leakers but when it it out there on Internet — even classifieid information — then they can’t stop it from being read.
But they can harras and cause big trouble for the leakers and journalists / news men like Assange and Kristinn.
Birgitta Jónsdóttir did work on that Collateral Murder video and of course work on the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative journalist haven law http://immi.is/?l=en and now will get a taste of what it is like to be on end of state with largest budget for this kind of investigations .
I do wish her luck because she is going up in my opinion since her work on Collateral Murder and IMMI. As to here in politics well, she is flash in pan.
After these comments I checked about the immunity and I must admit iw as wrong. it is correct that MP’s ar eonly nationall immune against prosecution if this immunity is not revoked by the parliament. internationally an immunity theoraticcal only exists for head of states. my bad!
Still I do not agree at all with Bromley here that we shoud assist the US with there dee-fishing camapign in order to find just something they can use to prosecute Mr. Assange.
>but this matter is effecting our stand as a sovereign nation
There’s no immunity for parliamentarians. Jonsdottir was, at one point, in the frame to lead Wikileaks (whilst being a serving parliamentarian at the time), so information that’s been stored that originated from her could easily be important to the US.
And what about the US’ sovereignty? As a friendly and allied nation, shouldn’t Iceland be helping them out?
But, go ahead, pull out of NATO. Gone are the days where Iceland was useful to the protection of the West from a real threat (which, incidentally, would have been just as much a threat to the Icelandic way of life as to the US’).
I support the leak of the documents, but to try and stand behind ‘parliamentary immunity’ shows incredible naivety. Such immunity and ‘freedom of speech’ only applies to citizens withing their own country – non-Americans are not protected by the constitution.
Wikileaks has made a deliberate attack on the USA, Iceland has offered protection to the US’s enemies and they don’t take kindly to that. You will note that there hasn’t been any leaks about Iceland (except for that single message last year), which is telling. If Iceland wants to attack the US under a non existent concept of ‘freedom of speech’ they it should expect to be treated not as an ally, but as an enemy.
I think that should be taken much more serious. I would expect our foreign minister to call his US counterpart, and not discuss something like this onan under-secreatry level! I am notpositive about Össurs work at all, not in the past and not now, but this matter is effecting our stand as a sovereign nation, so I would support the foreign minister, even Össur, in standing strong and tall her. I am just afraid he won’t…this government hasn’t shown much spine yet (neither has the one before or the one before that) and the past 2-3 years i think the Icelandic government is more like a huntig dog you have to carry on your arms to the hunt as by themselves, nothing will happen.
I expect an explanation form the US governemtn through there ambasador and a guarantee for our MP’s as internationally usual. This is not obout Wikileaks, this is about a MP of a sovereign Nation and even more, a friendly nation and NATO-partner…but maybe we should overthing all our engagements in such organisaitons like NATO, based on how we have been treated by our “friends and partners” in the past years including being classified as a terrorist or rogue nation to some extend. I will be following this development with the US as close as I can, and will make my decision about the icleandic politics and elections accordingly. For me, this is a big matter.