« The development is truly a concern »
Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir, a member of the Independence Party, says the increase in foreign prisoners in Iceland is a concern.
Foreign nationals were one -third of the prisoners in Iceland in 2024, according to the Prison and Probation Agency’s replies to the request of mbl.is, but in 2019 they were 19% of Iceland’s prison prisoners.
Disagree
Is this development a concern?
« Yes, the development is truly a concern and I totally disagree with the representatives of the Rise, whether it be MPs or the minister of the issue, who say that we should not be discussing these issues at all with regard to where people come from, » says Diljá Mist in Day.
Among other things, Diljá is referring to the words of Thorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir, Minister of Justice, who said on the wave earlier this week:
« Of course, it should never be talked about this in such a way that foreigners are some special problem regarding the fact that people break. »
Wants to send foreign criminals out of the country
In the episode, Diljá and Bergþór Ólason, MP for the Central Party, discuss foreign affairs in a broad sense.
Diljá says it is important to focus on why it is such a high proportion of foreigners who serve judgments or detention here in Iceland.
She wants the Icelandic state to use all its powers to send foreign criminals to their home states and mentions that Thorbjörg Sigríður has issued it, in response to Diljár’s inquiry in Althingi, that it is in favor of it.
It is undeniable that taxpayers bear this cost
But Diljá also says it is possible to look to Denmark, who has signed a contract with Kosovo to host up to 300 hundreds of foreign prisoners who have been sentenced in Denmark.
Do you think there is any likelihood that the Icelandic state is going to negotiate with a foreign state to host prisoners for us?
« It just needs to be better at the minister with that. She (Thorbjörg) at least opened it, did not seem to be negative in that regard. Of course, she sees, as we do, that it is undeniable that Icelandic taxpayers bear the cost of this huge number of foreign criminals, » says Diljá Mist.
Click the link below to access the interview with Diljá and Bergþór as a whole.
