Jon Asgeir Johannesson has been a suspect of the Icelandic judiciary for the past sixteen years but can now finally consider himself a free man. The Supreme Court of Iceland has rejected the State Attorney appeal in the Aurum-case where the attorney tried to have Jon Asgeir once again convicted and sentenced to jail. Past attorney´s efforts have all failed. Jon Asgeir was twice found not guilty at District Court. The case was also handled by the Supreme Court and finally in front of newly formed Landsréttur where Jon Asgeir was acquitted for the fourth time. Eleven judges have handled the case and ten of them have acquitted Jon Asgeir of all charges. Still the State´s Attorney thought it would be a good idea to try once more even though six years have passed since charges were first pressed.

 

“With decision of Supreme Court denying the State Attorney the right to appeal in the Aurum-case I can finally see the back of sixteen years of government prosecution against me. I have been a suspect, indicted defendant in a legal case against the government for 5992 days in row.

I see the Aurum-case as a really nasty campaign against me as an individual where Special Attorney Olafur Thor Hauksson and investigators Grimur Grimsson and Sveinn Ingiberg Magnusson withheld important files for the purpose of framing me.

 

It is also impossible to forget the part Winding Up Committee of Glitnir Bank played by making the case up and press charges to the police. It must be investigated whether Steinunn Gudbjartsdottir and Pall Eiriksson, members of the Committee, are not guilty of deceiving the government in this case.

 

These sixteen years have been a heavy burden on me, both mentally and financially, but also for my family. All these cases were really tough for my parents but they are both deceased and will not witness the end and outcome of this long battle.

To fight the government is hard. One finds himself small compared to those that have all the power and money of the government behind them. My experience of those who investigated those cases and prosecuted is that normal reasons were of no interest to them. All cases were investigated with a guilty verdict given beforehand. I was interrogated for 260 hours and was never asked about matters that could be favourable to me.

It is my sincere hope that the Icelandic government will learn from this campaign against me and make investigators and prosecutors work by the principle that every man is innocent until proven otherwise.”

 

Jon Asgeir Johannesson