Wikileaks

FBI BANNED FROM ICELAND.

Attempted to infiltrate country in hunt for WikiLeaks.

REYKJAVÍK (Rixstep) — FBI agents landed in Reykjavík without prior notification in an attempt to investigate WikiLeaks operations in the country, but Home Secretary Ögmundur Jónasson found out about the visit and forced them to leave the country, with the Icelandic government then issuing a formal protest to US authorities, according to Islandsbloggen.

The hunt for WikiLeaks by the US has on several occasions involved private individuals and companies on Iceland. Authorities in the US have for example succeeded in obtaining account information from Twitter on parliamentarian Birgitta Jónsdóttir. Jónsdóttir today refuses to travel to the US out of fear of being arrested for her connections with WikiLeaks.

Birgitta Jónsdóttir is also one of the people behind a new piece of Icelandic media legislation which will make the country a bastion for freedom of speech and source protection. The law proposal is still a long way from being completed and can still take years before it's ratified by the Icelandic parliament.

This past summer the credit card company Valitor was forced by a court decision to again offer the opportunity to donate to WikiLeaks. Their payment channel had previously been closed off after massive pressure was brought to bear by international credit card companies which in turn was fueled by US efforts to stop the organisation. An appeal of the ruling is expected.

Read More: http://rixstep.com/1/20130131,00.shtml