Byrgið

Byrgið was an Icelandic Christian residential treatment center for homeless drug and gambling addicts, and people with various other personality disorders. The aim of the treatment was to help individuals achieve a better life. Byrgið also provided preventive work and advice to the relatives of addicts. Guðmundur Jónsson was the director of Byrgið until December 2006, when he stepped down temporarily. Jón Arnarr Einarsson took over as director until Byrgið was closed on 15 January 2007, and shortly thereafter, the operation was permanently shut down. Former residents were offered temporary treatment at Landspítali, but it is not known how many took advantage of that offer.

NOTE - extensive links are available at the equivalent page in Icelandic Wiki Breyti Byrgið

Organization and Activities

Before Byrgid was founded, Guðmundur Jónsson had taken into his home people who were disordered and he had tried to help them. But it soon became clear that more was needed. He together with several people founded Byrgid on December 1 , 1996. The founders themselves had been addicts but got rid of addiction. Byrgin was run as a non-profit organization - by a non-profit organization of the same name, Byrgin ses.

The barracks first had facilities at Hvaleyrbraut 23 in Hafnarfjörður , but there were facilities for 12 people. Another house opened in 1997 at Vesturgatu 18, also in Hafnarfjörður, and there was accommodation for 16 to 18 people. In 1997, a building was opened in Hlíðardalsskóli in Ölfus and there were facilities for 80 to 90 people. Activities stopped for a while on Vesturgata in 2000. Operations were completely stopped on Vesturgatonni in January 2001 and operations on Hvaleyrrbrautinn were completely stopped in May 2001. In 1999 , Byrgid opened a facility at Rockville in Miðnesheiði. Operations were stopped in 2003 at Rockville and then moved to Efri-Brú in Grímsnes. For a while there was a plan to open an establishment in Vífilsstaðir, but it did not happen.

The activity benefited from the work of volunteers and was financed by grants from individuals, companie and the state. The state supported Byrgid by at least 226 million ISK from 1999 to 2007. Boarders also paid for the board.

Byrgisin's board was appointed at the end of December 2006: Guðmundur Jónsson, Jón Arnarr Einarsson , and deputies are Helga Haraldsdóttir and Elma Ósk Hrafnsdóttir, but Helga is Guðmundar's wife and Elma is Jón's wife.

In 2004 , an average of 30 people per month lived in Byrgin, 35 in 2005 and 2006.

Treatment

In a report from 2002 , it is said that those who came to Byrgid for treatment were often people who had used drugs for a long time and had made unsuccessful attempts to stop that use. For this reason, they had been ill-treated mentally and physically and socially isolated. It is also mentioned that they were usually homeless. In the report, it is said that the strength of the treatment was, in the opinion of the author of the report, mainly contained in five points: In faith in God - such faith gives residents hope, in motivation, in the duration of the treatment, but it was assumed that the treatment would last for six months or more, in social responsibility than those who stayed in Byrgin, many of whom had not experienced such responsibility in a longer time, and in the common goals of the residents. It can also be deduced from the report that it was not a case of special treatment measures such as psychiatric treatment , but rather it can be said that it was a kind of "social psychological treatment" where the treatment is based on community with other residents, faith, mutual support, equality, encouragement and giving people the time they needed to recover. The report also states that no educated people managed the treatment or diagnosis of mental disorders, nor that they had training or attended courses in such matters. All treatment took this into account. However, it should be kept in mind that the report was written in 2002 and the treatment may have changed, in the period from when the report was written until Byrgin was closed.

The treatment was based on the 12-step system of the AA organization. The treatment was in the form of a program that started early in the morning and lasted well into the evening. Fairly strict house rules applied in Byrgin, for example, there was a lot of emphasis on cleaning, residents were expected to do some work during their stay, and visits were only allowed once a week. The treatment emphasized a healthy daily life, where discipline was paramount. Emphasis was placed on the development of the individual and he was encouraged to continue. The goal was that the individual could be responsible in society and could take responsibility for his own life. Some inmates had educated themselves during their stay in the Castle, reportedly with good results.

According to the employees of Byrgin at the time, many of those who have been treated in Byrgin have returned to life, are employed and have managed to get back on their feet. Some have acquired families and homes. In the report from 2002, as mentioned above, it is also discussed that Byrgið has helped many people.

Suspicion of misconduct

Finance

Byrgi's finances have been checked at least twice. The previous observation was in 2001 and 2002 when an assessment was made of Byrgi's activities, but that assessment appeared in the report mentioned above. In that audit, Byrgis's accounting and financial management were examined and it was found that the accounting was inadequate and that financial management was highly questionable.

The second examination took place in late 2006 and until 2007, after an examination by the National Audit Office was ordered. That observation was requested in the middle of November. That view of finances is discussed below.

In addition, Byrgi's annual accounts have not been properly submitted. At the end of 2006, the Tax Administration announced that only one annual account for Byrgid had been submitted since 2003 and that annual account was insufficient.

Compass episode and accusations

On December 17, 2006, the news commentary program Kompás was broadcast , but in that program it was told about the investigation into Byrgisin's affairs, which the show's relatives had been working on for about three months. The investigation started after a letter was sent to members of parliament and ministers in October 2006 , but in the letter, the accusations against Guðmundi Jónsson, the then director of Byrgis, are detailed. It was about allegations regarding financial misconduct and sexual intercourse with residents of Byrgis. The program stated that 10 to 20 people were the sources of the program, but they were employees, former and current inmates, as well as inmates' parents. It was stated in the program that four girls said in interviews with Kompás reporters that they had sexual relations with Guðmund during the treatment. Kompás' reporters said they have documents that support allegations about Guðmund's sexual relationship with inmates. But in addition, part of a questionnaire that Guðmundur is said to have used in interviews with inmates was shown, which, among other things, asks about sexual behavior. One of the sources who appeared in an interview, said that Guðmundur gave expensive clothes and cars to girls he had a relationship with. Guðmundur denied all the accusations leveled at him, saying they were lies and that Kompás's data was stolen data from him. He denied having sexual relations with his clients. It is worth mentioning that none of the sources appeared under a name, faces were obscured and voices changed.

Guðmundur temporarily resigned as director the day after the showing of the Kompáss show. Guðmundur said he plans to file a defamation case against Station 2 over Kompás' coverage. Guðmundur also said in a radio interview that the editor of Kompás had given drugs to his sources in exchange for information, but the news director of Stöðvar 2 denied these accusations. Guðmundur reported Kompás to the police the day after the show was shown.

Guðmundur was also accused of having used Byrgisin's money to buy plots in Byrgisin's vicinity, but he denied it.

Report, prisoners transferred and further demands

In Kompás' review, it is reported that a report was drawn up on Byrgi's activities in 2002 , but it is the report that was mentioned above. The relatives of Kompás could not get that report from the public authorities, but finally got access to it through other means. The day after the episode aired, the report was released to the media, by which time the report had been declassified. The report was written after a working group of three ministries decided that there was a reason to examine Byrgisin's activities separately. The report had not come before the Althingi's budget committee, but was discussed in the government at the time.

On December 20, 2006, the Prison Service decided to transfer two prisoners from Byrgin , who had been allowed to serve part of their sentence there, back to Litla-Hraun . It was decided due to discussion about the issue of Byrgin to move the prisoners out of Byrgin, but a request for this came from Byrgin. An agreement was made in 2002 between Byrgin and the Norwegian Prison Service, which means that prisoners can stay in the Byrgin for part of their time served. A total of 15 prisoners have stayed in Byrgin on these grounds. The agreement was still in force in 2006.

On December 21 , 2006, a young woman appeared in an interview on Station 2 who fell in love with Guðmund Jónsson the next day. The woman said in the interview that she had been in a relationship with Guðmund for about two years and that it had ended about three to four weeks before the interview. The woman appeared under her own name and said that Guðmund had seduced her. She confessed to having been one of the people discussed in the Kompáss show, which was mentioned above, but she was not one of the people who appeared in the Kompáss show. She said that she had a similar experience with Guðmundur as was described in the show, and that she had documents that proved that she and Guðmundur had had this relationship. She accused Guðmund of a breach of confidentiality because he had told Byrgis' other clients about her and Guðmund's personal conversations. She also said that she received the questionnaire described in the Kompáss episode. She also accused Guðmund of defrauding her of four million ISK that she received from an insurance company. The woman sued Guðmund on December 22, 2006.

On December 27 , 2006 , it was reported in the news that a doctor in the capital region had sent a letter to the National Medical Examiner in 2002 to the effect that he had been told that three residents of Byrgi had become pregnant by its employees. According to an employee of the office, the National Health Service does not have jurisdiction over Byrgina, because it is not a health institution. However, it is legal if employees have intercourse with inmates at treatment facilities, but despite that, it seems that no one has looked into the matter further. Later it turned out that it was Pétur Hauksson, a psychiatrist, who wrote the letter to the National Medical Examiner (see below).

On December 29, 2006, a middle-aged woman appeared who claimed to have become a guarantor, with a mortgage on her apartment, for a loan taken out for Byrgid. According to the woman, the loan was taken out in 1999 and intended for the development of the business. According to the woman, Guðmundur paid off the loan and was paid for several months. Payments stopped after that and the woman had to pay off the loan herself, and as a result she had to sell her home and move to a cheaper home in another municipality. The woman said she was going to sue Guðmund for non-compliance.

Cessation of payments and detoxification

On December 30 , 2006, it was announced that the state's payments to Byrgisin had been stopped at the request of the state auditor, but at that time there was an investigation into Byrgisin's finances. The study is discussed in more detail below.

It is likely that detoxification was carried out in the Byrgi at some time, but the National Health Service sent Hafnarfjörður's health control a tip in 1999 that the Byrgi was not legally authorized to carry out such activities. However , in a report published by the Ministry of Health in 2005 , Byrgið is included in the list of institutions and non-governmental organizations that offer detoxification, so the ministry has known that detoxification took place in Byrgið. Detoxification is also discussed in an article that appeared on Morgunblaðin's website or in Morgunblaðin itself on June 12, 2003. However, a doctor who has worked in Byrgin does not recognize that detoxification took place there. He said that there was one exception, however, when a couple was in detoxification. The board of the Byrgin also says that detoxification has not taken place in the Byrgin, but says that an intensive care unit has been operated, where people stay before receiving treatment. Detoxification should be completed before people come to stay, says the doctor.

On January 3 , 2007, it was reported in the news that twenty residents of the Byrgi had left it, according to director Jón Arnarr Einarsson, following discussions about the Byrgi in the media. Jón Arnarr said that most of those who left Byrgid were homeless and had returned to drinking. He said that there were eight inmates left, and eight workers, and the workers and inmates aimed to continue the activities. According to him, the effect of the state no longer paying subsidies to Byrgina would be insignificant.

Audit of the National Audit Office

On January 15, 2007, the National Audit Office published the results of its audit pursuant to request of the Ministry of Social Affairs from November 2006. The audit covered the accounting of the years 2005 and 2006, but the annual accounts for those years had not been audited when the audit was carried out. The audit revealed that Byrgis's accounting was "significantly deficient", and due to these "serious deficiencies", the state prosecutor should take the case into consideration. The audit states that there has not been sufficient accounting for numerous expenses incurred by Byrgis. It is also clear that its funds have been used by employees for personal expenses.

On the same day that the National Audit Office's report was published, Byrgi's board decided to close Byrgi and it was closed on the same day. Byrgis's case has been referred to the National Police Commissioner's Office for processing.

Complaint against Guðmund Jónsson

On the same day that the National Audit Office's report came out, January 15, 2007, another woman sued Guðmund for sexual abuse while she was an inmate of Byrgis.

A video with Guðmund Jónsson and a former inmate of Byrgis was posted on the Internet in mid-January (apparently) and shows Guðmund and the inmate in sexual games, according to the media. Guðmundur had previously denied having played such games. Guðmundur accused the dear girl, the inmate who appeared in the video, of rape, but she herself had accused him of rape.

On January 26, 2007, the Sheriff of Selfoss received a third complaint against Guðmundi from a woman regarding sexual abuse and abuse of a confidential relationship. The woman, who is in her thirties, is a former inmate at Byrgin. Guðmundi was presented with the complaints of four women on February 1 due to a violation of the law on sexual relations between an employee of an institution and an inmate and abuse of a confidential relationship [46] . On February 12, the Sheriff of Selfoss received complaints from two more women against Guðmundi. The complaints have therefore become six in number.

Media coverage and other resources

Psychiatrist Pétur Hauksson appeared in the media where he reported that he had written a letter to the National Medical Examiner in 2002 and reported on the sexual abuse of employees against residents in Byrgin. Then Pétur said that he had sources that there were ten births that had occurred as a result of relationships between employees and inmates. Pétur wrote another letter to the national doctor saying that some inmates or former patients had been assigned a responsible role and the position of therapist. He urged the state to take responsibility and address the issue as it concerns patients within the health sector.

The day before two additional complaints against Guðmundi were received by the magistrate in Selfoss, Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde was in the interview program Silfri Egils where he learned about the women who were said to have become pregnant during their treatment in Byrgin. it would "not be possible to say that these girls would not have become pregnant anyway". The next day, there was an off-schedule debate in Alþingin on the issue of Byrgis, where Geir rephrased his statement from the day before. Then Geir H. Haarde declared that a group of experts had been set up in the psychiatric department of the Landspital , which would have the task of taking the former inmates of Byrgis for treatment.