Iceland’s Top Fishing Company Wins Judgment Against Icelandic Artist Over ‘Fishrot Scandal’

On Thursday, a judge in the UK ruled in favor of Iceland’s largest fishing company, Samherji, after it sued an Icelandic artist who, posing as the company, apologized for its alleged role in the so-called Fishrot scandal.

The decision comes after a hearing in London in September, when Samherji accused the artist – Oddur Eysteinn Friðriksson, known as ODEE – of intellectual copyright and malicious falsehood, among other charges. Samherji was also seeking damages and demanded a summary judgement to decide the outcome without a trial, which the judge has now accepted.

The Fishrot scandal takes its name from a cache of over 30,000 documents leaked by a former Samherij employee in Namibia and published by Wikileaks in November 2019. The files detail email correspondence between Samherji’s employees suggesting that the company paid millions of dollars in bribes to high-ranking politicians and officials in Namibia to acquire the southern African nation’s fishing quota.

Samherji had strongly denied allegations of bribery and the 10 accused Namibian officials have protested their innocence amid detention for more than four years. The case reached Namibia’s high court at the end of 2023 and is ongoing.

In 2023 ODEE created an artwork titled We’re Sorry, a fake UK-registered website replicating Samherji’s official website, but with the artwork’s title plastered in large font across the homepage. As part of the artwork, ODDE also painted the words “WE’RE SORRY” on a wall at Iceland’s Reykjavík Art Museum. The third element of the artwork was a press release titled “Samherji Apologizes, Pledges Restitution and Cooperation with Authorities” that ODEE sent to 100 foreign media outlets in 20 different countries.

“We at Samherji would like to issue a formal apology for our involvement related to the Fishrot scandal,” the fake press release reads. “We acknowledge the severity of the allegations against us, which include corruption, bribery, and neocolonialism. These actions have undermined Namibia’s governance and deprived the country of vital revenues for health and education.”

It continued: “We admit to using facilitation fees to enable corrupt financial transactions, extracting profits from Namibia, and paying minimal taxes.”

A UK high court judge approved an interim injunction last May to take down the website.

ODEE, who is represented by Andra Matei, a free-speech lawyer based in Paris, told ARTnews that he was not surprised by Thursday’s judgment. He has not yet decided if he will appeal. “This is not the end,” he said. “The purpose of the artwork apologizing was to put a spotlight on corporate responsibility – and also to highlight freedom of expression for artists. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, the purpose of the artwork has been served and elevated by Samherji and this case.”

After the judge’s decision on Thursday, Samherji’s CEO, Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, said he was “satisfied” with the result.

“We were forced to take legal action to protect our trademark when all other lenient resolutions were rejected,” he said in a statement. “The ruling clearly distinguishes between legitimate artistic expression and the misuse of a registered trademark. This judgment must be a matter of serious consideration for the academic institutions that gave their blessing to obvious trademark violations under the guise of artistic expression.”

Regarding the damages that Samherji is seeking from ODEE, the judge said it is likely to be a “small sum.”

ODEE’s lawyer, Andra Matei, told ARTnews that they are “swimming against the tide.”

“We never expected this to be easy or simple,” she said. “We are up against corporations with millions and millions of dollars and legal systems that have historically not paid attention to the crucial role that artists, such as ODEE, play in the strengthening of democracies. This is why – while we are disappointed – this decision has only furthered out resolve to take this fight all the way to the very end.”

Earlier this week, the London-based Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) urged Samherji to issue an apology for its involvement in the Fishrot scandal. The IPPR’s director, Graham Hopwood, said five years after the scandal was exposed, Namibians impacted by the scandal are yet to receive adequate redress for the losses they have suffered.

“As a result, the IPPR calls for Samherji to make full redress to directly affected and impacted individuals and communities for the disruption and devastation inflicted on their lives as a result of Fishrot,” he said in a statement.