The Oulu district court found Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Sebastian Tynkkynen guilty of ethnic agitation for his Facebook postings in 2017, according to Yle. While no Finnish media mentioned it, the third conviction for ethnic agitation is a record for a Finnish lawmaker.
Hiding behind Islamophobic arguments and that the sentence violated his free speech rights, Tynkkynen said that he will appeal the ruling by the district court.
The court fined him 4,050 euros.
The PS elected a new five-person board in August. Apart from Tynkkynen, the third vice president, the second vice president, Mauri Peltokangas, is also facing ethnic agitation charges.
The prosecutor defended his case by saying that Tynkkynen had targeted asylum and immigrants in his Facebook posts by blaming, among other things, that all Muslims are terrorists.
“They [the posts] generally target and label groups of people by generalizing,” said the prosecutor. “As such, such postings are likely to provoke intolerance, contempt, and even hatred towards these groups of people. Statements made for political purposes, which are likely to fuel intolerance, are not protected by freedom of expression [laws].”
PS chairperson Riikka Purra tweeted her support for Tynkkynen today.
The arguments used by Tynkkynen and the PS to hide their complicity and attitude against hate speech convictions, show how low some Finnish politicians and the PS have stooped. They act in the same manner as bullies and opportunists.
If politicians like Tynkkynen had their way, vulnerable minorities like Muslims would be put in a shooting gallery and attacked in the most hostile way possible.
Hate crime and hate speech would soar in Finland.
