Iceland complains about treatment of tourist
Iceland's government has asked the U.S. ambassador to explain the treatment of an Icelandic tourist who says she was held in shackles before being deported from the United States.
Erla Osk Arnardottir Lillendahl was arrested when she arrived at JFK airport in New York because she had overstayed a U.S. visa more than 10 years earlier.
She contended she was interrogated at JFK airport for two days, during which she was not allowed to call relatives. She said she was denied food and drink for part of the time, and was photographed and fingerprinted.
On Monday, Lillendahl claimed, her hands and feet were chained and she was moved to a prison in New Jersey, where she was kept in a cell, interrogated further and denied access to a phone.
* * * * * *
Overzealous security personnel? Did she have terrorist links? Conspiracy against the government? Nah, she overstayed her visa 10 years ago....10 years!!!
It's immigration's fault for not even stopping her when she left 10 years ago.
Were they that bored? If they catch an actual terrorist at immigration, they can use the dogs, their tasers, and some mace/pepper spray, and a few kicks to the head.
Comments
Posted by: AON
Posted on: December 18, 2007 05:45 PM
If you want to read a translation of Lillendahl's account, where she states the experience to be "...the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected..." from Icelandic to English, you can read it here.
The address is:
http://eggmann.blog.is/blog/eggmann/entry/389611/
Posted by: MikeyD
Posted on: December 23, 2007 09:57 PM
This story smells like urban legend material to me. Too many holes in it, and the report is based entirely on the unsubstantiated claims of the babe-ilicious Lillendahl. If you have a valid Icelandic passport, you don't need a visa to enter the US unless you've done something wrong during your prior stays, so the 'expired visa' 12 years ago story is odd. Also, her making a point in her telling of the story about travelling "first class while drinking white wine" seems a bit phony and contrived as is her inconsistent explanation of the officers taking everything but leaving her with a cell phone.
I'm surprised MSNBC is making a "news" story over an uncorraborated incident with no interview of the DHS officers who allegedly mistreated her. This is 100% her accusations without any presentation of the other side of the story. But if her story "feels" true, then that's what's important.
And people are detained every day here trying to enter the US without valid passports or visas. Not just "terror suspects". With luck, her newfound notoriety may land her a Playboy spread, or a job as an MSNBC journalist
Posted by: Duane
Posted on: December 30, 2007 09:19 PM
I don't know if this is true. Sounds very fishy to me.