A lawyer for the defense in a gang rape case that ended in acquittal is less than pleased with a police officer expressing his opinion about it on Facebook, and says he wants to see the officer fired.
In the wake of a recent acquittal of five young men accused of having gang raped a 16-year-old girl, many Icelanders on social media have expressed opinions on the matter. Amongst them is Birgir Örn Guðjónsson, better known to the country as Biggi the Cop.
On Saturday, Biggi posted the following on Facebook, which he addressed to the acquitted:
“Although the justice system didn’t convict you, society has. I don’t know you nor the girl, and I don’t know all the details. But I don’t need to, either. What I know is you used the body of a drunk, 16-year-old girl. You took turns having sex with her and recorded it on video. What were you thinking? Whatever the context was, or who said what, you should have known that this is completely wrong. Although the court has acquitted you, you will need to live with what you did. Society has found you guilty.”
Sveinn Andri Sveinsson, one of the lawyers for the defense, is very unhappy with this post, and has called for Biggi to be fired. Biggi’s post, Sveinn argues, should be interpreted as him calling the acquitted rapists.
“In a public setting, where he identifies as a member of the police force, this Biggi calls those accused and acquitted rapists,” Sveinn writes. “Police officers I’ve spoken with are reeling, and saying ‘Biggi the Cop’ has broken basic rules that officers dedicate themselves to in the academy. This man was the shift manager at the Kópavogur station, and so usually the first person to report to the scene of a crime. This kind of work requires a basic minimum of judgement and neutrality. If everything is as it should be at the capital area police, he will be handed a notice of termination tomorrow, or put on foot patrol. I will sent the police a letter to that effect anyway.”
Biggi the Cop is still working at his position at the time of this writing. It is unknown when, how, or if police authorities will respond to Sveinn Andri’s demand.
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