Finns Party MP Convicted of Ethnic Agitation
YLE, October 4, 2021
Oulu District Court on Monday issued Oulu parliamentarian Sebastian Tynkkynen 70 day fines—amounting to 4,400 euros—for inciting ethnic agitation.
Tynkkynen was charged with agitation against an ethnic group after publishing his texts on social media in 2017.
Prosecutors said his writings slandered immigrants and asylum seekers, and asked for the court to impose fines on Tynkkynen. The Oulu MP had denied the charges.
Tynkkynen had said that the texts were part of his local election campaign, in which he said he published information sent to him by citizens concerned about immigration.
Tynkkynen has two previous convictions for incitement against an ethnic group, handed down in 2017 and 2019.
Finns Party leader Riikka Purra said the latest conviction will not affect Tynkkynen’s position in the party, where he is one of three deputy leaders.
“He has been elected to represent the Finns Party leadership on behalf of the membership, so this [conviction] has no effect on that,” Purra said.
Tynkkynen indicated via a YouTube live stream shortly after the verdict was delivered that he intends to appeal the court’s ruling.
“I have understood that Sebastian Tynkkynen disagrees with the district court’s interpretation of whether this was generalised to mean all immigrants and asylum seekers,” Purra added.
