14 September 2017
REUTERS — Björt Framtíð, one of the three government coalition parties in Iceland, announced early Friday Icelandic time that it has decided to leave the government, after allegations that the Prime Minister’s party had attempted a cover up involving the clearing of a sex offender’s criminal history.
Benedikt Sveinsson, the father of Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, was accused of writing a letter recommending the clearing of convicted sex offender Hjalti Sigurjón Hauksson.
Hauksson was in 2004 sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment for serious and repeated sexual offences against his stepdaughter from when she was five and until she was seventeen.
Criminals convicted of serious offences in Iceland can apply to authorities to have their “honor restored”, effectively erasing their criminal records. Among the requirements to obtain the status is a letter of recommendation by a close friend or an associate. […]
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