Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (PS) posed for a photograph with a bicycle in Eira, Helsinki, on 16 November 2023. Halla-aho has submitted two reports of an offence over social media posts in which he was described as a fascist. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)
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SPEAKER of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (PS) filed at least two reports of an offence late last year over social media comments that referred to him as a fascist.
The comments were made by comedian Ilkka Kivi and Aino Tuominen (Greens), a deputy councillor at the City of Helsinki. Kivi told STT in December that the report is probably about a comment he made in response to a Ukrainian journalist who lauded the Ukrainian skills of Halla-aho.
Halla-aho, he said in his response, is a fascist and has previously supported Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, who has blocked further EU aid to Ukraine.
Tuominen employed the term ‘fascist’ in the same discussion, according to YLE. “I didn’t use the term to offend but to describe his political position,” she wrote on X on 29 December. “The Finns Party can call people whatever they want based on personal qualities and appearance. But no one is allowed to criticise their politics. That I criticised his politics shouldn’t lead to criminal charges.”
Halla-aho, who is the presidential candidate of the Finns Party, has been asked to shed light on his reasoning in light of his earlier views on the matter of speech. Ilta-Sanomat in January 2020 interviewed him in connection with a discussion on whether members of the populist right-wing party should face legal repercussions for their inappropriate remarks.
“I live with being called a Nazi, racist and fascist. I’m not about to file an offence report about [such statements] even though they’re completely inappropriate characterisations,” said Halla-aho.
He explained the apparent change of view in an interview with YLE before Christmas.
“I haven’t filed resorted to offence reports too often, and I haven’t filed too many requests for inquiry in my life. But I thought it’d be interesting to see where the lines are. Is it really possible to make these kinds of obviously stigmatising and inaccurate claims publicly about another person?”
“It’d be good to get the police, prosecutor or a court to rule on whether it’s appropriate to call a person who’s operating legally in politics a ‘fascist,” he messaged to Helsingin Sanomat.
STT in December asked Halla-aho how the reports of an offence align with the fact that he advocated for broad freedom of speech during his term at the helm of the Finns Party. The idea was that people should tolerate disturbing and offensive text without taking the issue to court.
“I’ve never said freedom of speech should encompass the dissemination of false and stigmatising claims. For example, calling someone a paedophile or fascist without grounds isn’t criticism,” he messaged to the news agency.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
