A man in his twenties is charged with the attempted manslaughter of a minor boy of foreign background. Photo: Eeva Riihelä / Lehtikuva
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A man accused of stabbing a foreign-background student in Oulu last year has been declared not criminally responsible due to mental illness, according to a psychiatric assessment presented in court on Wednesday.
The suspect, born in 2001, admitted to the attack, which occurred on 9 September near Oulu University Hospital. The victim, an Upper Secondary school student, was stabbed four times in the neck and upper body but survived following urgent treatment.
Court proceedings began last year. In December, Oulu District Court issued an interim ruling confirming the man had carried out the attack and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
That evaluation, conducted by the Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), concluded the suspect could not understand his actions or their consequences at the time of the incident. He is currently held involuntarily in a psychiatric facility.
The prosecutor had sought a conviction for attempted manslaughter. However, the psychiatric finding means the suspect will not face a custodial sentence.
The court is set to issue a final verdict next week. It will rule on the legal characterisation of the act and whether a racist motive was involved.
Police and prosecutors have argued that the stabbing was racially motivated. The suspect denies this, saying he acted impulsively after an exchange of glances with the victim.
The defence said the suspect holds views critical of immigration but argued that this was not the motive for the attack.
The case is one of several recent suspected racist attacks in Oulu.
In an earlier incident, a known neo-Nazi stabbed two children in a shopping centre. He was found guilty but avoided prison following a psychiatric assessment and was placed in involuntary treatment.
A week later, a 15-year-old attacked a man of foreign background at the same location. He was found guilty of attempted manslaughter but, like the others, was ruled not criminally responsible and placed in psychiatric care.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
