Former world's strongest man claims Icelandic state for damages

Former strongest man in the world and weight-lifter Magnús Ver Magnússon has claimed the Icelandic state for damages, amounting to about ten million Icelandic kronas for unlawful wrongdoing.

The case began when Magnús Ver got a phone call from the police on August 21st last year. In that phone call, a policeman told Magnús Ver that the police had used various investigative measures in an investigation directed to him at that time, including the tapping of his phone, using a tracker device in his car and putting a listening device in cars at Magnús' disposal.

Magnús Ver Magnússon won the title of World's Strongest Man four times - in 1991, 1994, 1995, and 1996.

Investigated for three years

Magnús builds his claim for compensation on being investigated by the police for nearly three years, but on the October 1^st in 2014, Magnús' lawyer was notified that the investigation of a case, where Magnús had the legal status of a suspect, was over. Magnús was suspected of extensive drug smuggling, according to his lawyer, Ólafur Karl Eyjólfsson, but that suspicion proved to be unfounded and the investigation of the case was dropped.

Subject to coercive means

At a certain time, Magnús was subject to coercive means by the police for the period of two months, in November and December 2012, when the police was authorized to obtain information about which phone numbers were called from and to Magnús' telephone number and of other phone numbers and telephone sets that he possessed or had at his disposal.

Says that he has been investigated without a reasonable suspicion

Magnús builds his claim on the illegimitacy of the police investigation and that it had been unfounded and without a reasonable suspicion. He thinks that he has not in any way caused or contributed to the acts on which he builds his claim. He says that the evidence of the police do not in any way confirm a reasonable suspicion, as it was only referred to that the police had received information without any confirmation and therefore, in his view, it is not a reasonable suspicion.

10 millions a fair compensation

Then he accuses the police and the District Attorney of rudely violating his basic human rights. He says that he has not done anything to bring upon himself this injustice and thinks that 10 million Icelandic kronas is a fair compensation, with regard to the severity of the violation and how important rights, protection of private life are, protected by the constitution and the Human Rights Act.