Thread by @bjornih

Four have been arrested in Iceland for planning a terror plot. Police siezed dozens of firearms, including semi-automatic weapons. Part of the preparation involves 3d printed weapons. This is unprecedented in Iceland.

All arresred were Icelandic. The target was the parliament and the police. Two were released while twl remain in custody. Foreign links are being investigated. The investigation is ongoing and is extensive and searches have been carried out at nine locations.

More here: ruv.is/frett/2022/09/…

The first paragraph of Article 100(a) of the Iceelandic General Penal Code states that acts of terrorism may lead to lifetime imprisonment

The second paragraph of states that the same punishment shall be imposed on the person who, threatens to commit the above offences.

Terrorism is defined in Icelandic law by its purpose of causing significant fear among the public or unlawfully coercing Icelandic or foreign governments or international organizations to act in certain ways,

or in order to weaken or harm constitutional or political; economic or social foundations of a state or international organization.

The offences listed in the Penal Code include manslaughter, assault, deprivation of liberty, hijacking, burning, disruption of traffic safety, or an individual disrupting the operation of public transport equipment or causing gross property damage.

The police in Iceland is one of, if not the last police force that is generally not armed with firearms. This incident has already lead to discussions about general armament of the police.

Sources say the men arrested are linked to Nordic far-right extremist groups. In addition, sources close to Morgunblaðið say that police found “fanatical propaganda” that idolised far-right terrorist Anders Breivik and other extremists of that nature.

grapevine.is/news/2022/09/2…

An Icelandic organization that works against racism and far-right extremism is @antirasistarnir - go give them some love.

A huge amount of firearms and ammunition were found during the investigation, including semi-automatic guns - as well as 3D printers used in the manufacture of the weapons.

Police say they seized more than 50 weapons.

FYI the Icelandic newspapers are going to quite some length to explain what semi-automatic guns are, as they're not common in Iceland - direct translation: "semi-automatic guns - which are firearms that can be fired from, one shot after another, without charging in between"

This is weird; the Police asked for two weeks of custody for both men for the investigation into the planning of the terrorist attack. That sounds standard. The district court only agreed to that request in the case of one of them. The other one got a week.

Timeline of related events:
February 13: Shooting in downtown Reykjavik.
September 13: Man arrested on suspicion of weapons offences.
September 20: Man released from custody.

September 21: Four men were arrested in special forces operations. Among them was the man who was released on September 20.
September 22: Two of the men are still in custody, one for a week and the other for two weeks.

The February 13 shooting was also a case of a firearm manufactured by 3d printing. That case seems to be the first lead for the police in uncovering the potential terror plot. Links to foreign extremist groups are still being investigated.

One of those detained appears to previously have been arrested as a child.

As you can see from the timeline, one man was arrested, released, and then arrested again the day after.

"This is basically a continuation of another case related to the manufacture of weapons," said Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police