The sentencing of a respected scholar on racism of aggravated defamation by a Turku Court is more of a warning to others who may protest against ethnic profiling by security guards and the police. The verdict raises a lot of answered questions.
One of these is why was the seventeen-year-old put in handcuffs for not having a valid ticket. If he were white, would he have received the same treatment by the ticket inspectors and security guards?
The Helsinki Police, and the Finnish police in general, have a dismal reputation for dealing with ethnic profiling. It wasn’t too long ago when the police admitted that they did not ethnically profile anyone.
Why did the media think it is important to constantly identify the victim as “a dark-skinned” person?
Recent discussions by the Finnish government have raised concerns among human rights groups about the possibility of copying Denmark to carry out random spot checks on people in certain neighborhoods.
If such a measure were ever implemented, it could lead to France’s controversial Article 24 which restricts videoing the police with the intention of “threatening [their] physical or psychological integrity.”
Even if such changes in the law in Finland now seem far-fetched in a country where the police have a good reputation, it is essential to examine what is happening in other European countries where far-right governments have gained power. Some of these include Switzerland, where the Swiss People’s Party is the biggest party, the ruling Brothers of Italy and Lega Nord of Italy, Fidesz of Hungary, the United Right of Poland, Sweden Democrats, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* of Finland.
Also, in non-EU countries like Serbia (United Serbia) and North Macedonia (VMRO-DPMNE), there are far-right parties that target migrants and refugees.
Considering that the EU is a region that abides by the European Convention of Human Rights, it is concerning that such parties above target ethnic groups and minorities and want to weaken the civil rights of such people.
One consistent pattern seen in countries where far-right ideologies have gained power is the control and manipulation of narratives to instill fear, racist conspiracy theories, and the perception of dangerous threats by migrants to the native population.
At the core of these ideologies lie xenophobia and ethnic superiority. The far-right presents itself as the savior and protector of the native population, framing every outsider—immigrant, Roma, or anyone deemed different—as an ongoing threat and suspect.
Ethnic Profiling and Suspicion
A common tactic employed by far-right governments is ethnic profiling and the disproportionate targeting of ethnic, religious, and other minority groups by law enforcement agencies. This type of profiling often masquerades as “legitimate” when the police suspect someone of drug possession or gang affiliation.
“Legalized” ethnic profiling is used to justify the increased scrutiny and surveillance of certain communities and ethnic groups even if crime does not have a specific skin color or ethnicity. But when law enforcement focuses its attention on one particular ethnic group, they are more likely to uncover crime, not because of inherent criminality but due to increased scrutiny. It can lead to a vicious cycle, where arrests and convictions are used to justify further restrictions and targeting, perpetuating the belief that these communities are inherently dangerous.
Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen
In an interview with Joona Aaltonen of Helsingin Sanomat, Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen acknowledged concerns about the country’s “growing” youth and gang crime problem. She cited a statement by Jonne Rinne, the chairman of the Association of Police Organizations, who estimated that 95% of street gang members in Finland are of foreign origin on the basis of their names and ethnic backgrounds. Rinne did not care to elaborate if these youths were born in Finland, were Finnish citizens or had a Finnish parent.
Before Rantanen was minister, she would send Islamophobic messages to then Prime Minister Sanna Marin. “Marin’s government wishes Finns a Merry Christmas,” she wrote. Source: X (formerly Twitter).
The impact of National Coalition Party (NCP) Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government (Perussuomalaiset PS*, Swedish People’s Party and Christian Democrats) on Finland will be devastating. It will be a regression into the darkest corners of nationalism, xenophobia, chest-thumping, and bravado.
With the help of these social ills, there are plans to displace Finland’s liberal roots that gained force after it became an EU member in 1995. A lot of good laws were drafted at the end of the 1990s such as the new constitution, which guarantees that everyone, irrespective of their background, are equal before the law.
PS Interioir Minister Mari Rantanen speaking at A-studio, where she wants to give police rights in certain neighborhoods to stop and frisk people even if they are not suspected of crime. The proposal has raised concern about its legal problems. Rantanen states that such a model is being copied from Denmark, which is considered by some the most Islamophobic countries in Europe.
Plans to turn migrants legally into second-class members of society is one of the many threats by the government like paying foreigners less social welfare. There is a concerted plan to disenfranchise migrants.
Apart from the latter, Finland’s most right-wing government since the 1930s will do all it can to erect monuments to forgetting racism and worsening social inequality.
The racism scandals of summer are a case in point. They give us clear insight on how the government white-cleans its past.
A seven-point guide on how to create a new image and appear as a “normal” politician despite your racist background:
We read about the tragic death of a woman at Espoo’s Iso Omena shopping center on Saturday. The woman died while being escorted by four Securitas security guards out of the shopping center. The altercation ended with the woman on the floor, handcuffed, and eventually lifeless.
The police announced Sunday that the security guards in the incident are suspected of manslaughter.
The woman’s death followed a police investigation of security guards at Avarn Security, who systematically beat and humiliated its victims.
Both incidents shed light on some uncomfortable but imperative matters: greater scrutiny of security guards by the companies and police, better training, and stricter psychological tests to determine if they qualify for such work.
A good editorial by Helsingin Sanomat today caused us to reflect on crime and punishment. As everyone knows, and with elections on April 4, radical-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset and the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) are spreading fear about youth gangs and how they are a threat to our society.
After reading 77 stories published by Yle (9 stories), Helsingin Sanomat (19), Iltalehti (6), Ilta-Sanomat (30), and MTV (13) about the Avarn Security scandal, only one story alleges racism as a factor in the working culture of security guards. Another story by Ilta-Sanomat, which wrote about excessive force, only mentioned once a “person of foreign background” was apprehended by security guards.
Meanwhile, according to various media reports, a woman died on Saturday at Espoo’s Iso Omena shopping center. The woman was being escorted out of the shopping center by Securitas security guards. The police suspect that manslaughter is the cause of death.
Avarn Security guards holding down a victim. Source: Helsingin Sanomat.
While the youth gang stories hyped by the media have no problem labeling “persons of foreign background” as a source of the “problem,” there is no mention of ethnic profiling as a factor. Surprisingly, non of the 77 stories mention ethnic profiling at all.
Helsingin Sanomat asked in a story what the security guards’ motives were in using excessive violence and humiliating their victims. Another story by the daily alleged that excessive force is used against socially venerable and disadvantaged people.
What do they mean? The homeless? Drunks? Old people? People of color? Other minorities?
Two rulings in two important cases involving ethnic profiling and suspected hate crime are a further stain on the credibility of the Finnish police. One of these took over six years to get a just ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court, and another one just slapped the hand of the suspect lightly.
Ethnic profiling, which the police have vehemently denied in Finland, saw its date in court after a long, winding, and painful process for the victims.
The legal path of singer Musta Barbari’s mother and sister to the Supreme Administrative Court:
They were stopped on July 9, 2016, by plainclothes policemen in the Helsinki city center on suspicion that they were prostitutes;
The mother and sister refused to give their ID and were found guilty in December 2017 by the police of disobedience;
An appeal was made to the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal, which found the police guilty of ethnic profiling and ordered them to pay a conditional fine of 10,000 euros to Musta Barbari’s mother and sister;
In April 2021, a Helsinki Administrative Court overturned the National Non-discrimination and Equality Tribunal’s decision;
On Thursday, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland overturned the Helsinki Administrative Court’s ruling.
The ruling in favor of Musta Barbari´s mother and sister is another sad example of how Finland shuts its eyes and ears to the social ill of institutional racism. You can seek justice if you are very patient and willing to take a beating.
“I’m no longer engaging with white people on the topic of race. Not all white people, just the vast majority who refuse to accept the existence of structural racism and its symptoms. I can no longer engage with the gulf of an emotional disconnect that white people display when a person of colour articulates their experience. You can see their eyes shut down and harden. It’s like treacle is poured into their ears, blocking up their ear canals. It’s like they can no longer hear us.”
While, after much suffering and waiting, Musta Barbari´s mother and sister saw justice, the Fares Al-Obaidi case was just starting.
The Southern Ostrobothnia Administrative Court of Seinäjoki fined and sentenced only one person when a group attacked Al-Obaidi in June 2020.
Migrant Talesspoke with the prosecutor in July. According to him, there was no hate crime case because the attack against Al-Obaidi wasn’t due to his ethnicity.
Al-Obaidi disagrees. He said that they immediately called him derogatory, racist insults like mamu and the n-word when they started to argue. Moreover, only one person was convicted because the others remained quiet.
Two stories that expose injustice and denial in Finland became public this week: First, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland ruled Thursday that the police ethnically profiled singer Musta Barbari’s mother and sister in July 2016. The other news is about an Iraqi youth who white Finns violently attacked in July 2020.
Both cases are not only concerning but revealing. Ethnic profiling and suspected hate crime cases drag their feet in Finland’s legal system. Musta Barbari’s mother and sister finally saw justice after six years, while Fares Al-Obaidi’s case was decided by a court two years and two months later.
Racist treatment and ethnic profiling are a stain on the police. Worse yet, denial and playing down such serious problems ensure a bigger stain on the police. If you want to know about racism in the Finnish police, why not ask Finland’s Romany minority and other visible minorities like blacks.
The headline by Yle News, “Police rarely punished after complaints over racism,” speaks volumes about the problem. If racism is a problem in the Finnish police, why has so little been done to address this issue?
Certainly, minorities pay taxes and those taxes go to funding the police, who work for such people.
It should not come as a surprise why the credibility of the police among some minorities is low. The more the police deny these problems and do little to nothing about them, the more they will eat away its credibility.
A 2020 survey showed that 91% trusted the police, down from 95% in 2018, according to the Police University College. Other studies have pointed out that trust in the police is high, even among migrants.
Despite the high amount of trust, the police service has not been immune to scandals.
The latest one involved a senior police constable, who was sentenced by the district court of the Päijät-Häme region for aggravated assault and breach of duty, according to Yle News.
The fact that this case became public is a step in the right direction that should strengthen and not erode confidence in the police.
Even so, many matters do erode confidence. One of these is an alleged case of aggressive and dehumanizing treatment of a black father and his son by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) and the police, according to the Helsinki Times.
Even if the passengers did not have a valid ticket, one could ask if this is how such an incident ends: humiliation, security guards, and the police.
How many white Finns end up in this situation if they don’t have a valid AB-zone ticket, which costs 2.80 euros!
Let’s assume that there is no ethnic profiling involved and that white Finns receive the same treatment as a black person.
Even so, this type of news does more to destroy the credibility of the police and the HSL ticket inspectors than anything else.
Other big trust busters are ethnic profiling and institutional racism.
The Pekka Kataja story, the Perussuomnalaiset (PS) councilor of Jämsänkoski, is constantly changing. First, he claims that “Arab-looking” men assaulted him. That has now morphed into “possibly” it was the far right or far left.
Kataja even claimed that he was attacked due to his opinions of an asylum reception center, which he wanted to be closed.
The problem with the latter theory is that few if any at the asylum reception center has ever heard of him.
“The asylum seekers at the reception center don’t read Finnish papers so they are unaware of people like this man [Kataja], said a Jämsänkoski asylum seeker.
While we should forcefully condemn all types of violence, there is a generous dose of hypocrisy emerging from the Kataja affair. On the same day as Kataja was attacked, the family of Left Alliance Helsinki councilperson Suldaan Said Ahmed was threatened with a bb-rifle.
How many PS politicians condemed what happaned to Ahmed’s family?
Why isn’t anyone showing their repugnance for racism and hate speech perpetrated by parties like the PS?
