Death Threat Investigated?

Minister of Industry Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, writing on her home page, said that she has filed charges against environmentalist group Íslandsvinir (Friends of Iceland), believing that they have threatened her life.

The group held a march on Laugavegur bearing a banner that read, "Drekkjum Valgerði en ekki Íslandi" ("Drown Valgerður, not Iceland), a reference to the flooding that will occur once the Kárahnjúkar dam project, which Sverrisdóttir has supported, is complete.

Writing on her website, Sverrisdóttir criticised the media for giving attention to the protestors, implied that the Leftist-Green Party were working with the protestors, and said she had filed a formal charge with police to investigate the matter.

Reykjavík chief of police Geir Jón Þórisson told reporters that it's a serious matter, and that the threat needs to be investigated.

Sverrisdóttir concludes her article saying, "I've been told that last Saturday's protest was the beginning of an operation that's to last all summer. I ask myself what we can expect if this is just the beginning."

Police officials said they had not yet decided to investigate the matter, nor would they say if they considered it likely or not that they would. A lawyer did say, however, that arrests could be made.

- PFN