Vilborg Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic national. At the end of April 1989 the police in Reykjavík began an investigation relating to the importation and distribution of cocaine. On 11 May 1989 the applicant and her co-habitant, P, were arrested. P, one of the principal suspects, was kept in custody but the applicant was released the following night. On 17 May 1989 she was interrogated as a suspect and denied having any knowledge of the alleged drug offences. On 2 June 1989 she was again interrogated, following which she was arrested and detained on remand until 5 July 1989.
On 26 March 1991 the Reykjavík District Court (Héraðsdòmur Reykjavíkur) found P. guilty of drug-related offences and sentenced him to 4 years’ imprisonment. On 30 October 1989 Ms Vilborg Yrsa Sigurðardóttir was charged with having delivered to P. 666 United States dollars to buy cocaine and with having used cocaine from December 1988 to early 1989. On 18 January 1993 she was acquitted by the District Court. Its judgment was final.
On 29 June 1993 she instituted civil proceedings against the Icelandic Government, requesting compensation for unlawful and unnecessary arrest and detention on remand. On 30 June 1994 the District Court rejected her claim and, on 30 November 1995, the Supreme Court upheld the District Court’s judgment.
Ms Yrsa Sigurðardóttir alleged that her right under Article 6 § 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, had been violated in that the Supreme Court had rejected her compensation claim on the grounds that “she was not deemed more likely to be innocent than guilty of the conduct with which she was charged”, in accordance with Icelandic law.
Citation: Vilborg Sigurdardottir v Iceland (App no 32451/96) ECHR 30 May 2000
(from the official press-release prepared by the Registry Office of the European Court of Human Rights)