Finland

Christians

Finland reverses quota refugee policy, accepts half from Muslim-majority countries Finnish media previously reported that the Interior Ministry planned to favour refugees from Christian-majority nations over Muslim-majority countries.

November 28, 2024   

(Yle) Finland will take in 500 quota refugees next year as part of the UNHCR’s resettlement programme, the Interior Ministry confirmed in a press statement released on Thursday. The statement also revealed the allocation of the quota, meaning which refugee groups will […]

Christians

Interior Ministry to review refugee quota plans following backlash According to media reports, the Finns Party had proposed reducing the number of quota refugees accepted from Muslim-majority countries while increasing the intake from Christian-majority nations.

November 22, 2024   

(Yle) Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has requested that the Interior Ministry review its plans on how Finland’s refugee quota will be allocated next year. Finnish media reported last month that the Finns Party has proposed reducing the number of quota […]

Clothing

Finns Party MPs call for burka ban in public places Although supportive of the proposal, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) told Yle it is unlikely to pass into law during this government's term in office.

November 15, 2024   

(Yle) Finland’s interior minister, Mari Rantanen (Finns), has confirmed to Yle that she supports a proposal put forward by 14 of her party colleagues earlier this week calling for a ban on face coverings in public places. The proposal would effectively mean […]

Christians

Ombudsman warns Finland’s quota refugee plan would be discriminatory The Interior Ministry instructed officials to prepare the quota refugee plan in a way that conflicts with the Finnish Constitution as well as laws on discrimination, according to the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman.

November 7, 2024   

(Yle) The Interior Ministry’s quota refugee plans for next year — which are currently being prepared — are likely discriminatory on religious grounds, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman office has warned. Last month, Finnish media reported that Finns Party ministers want to reduce the […]

Government & Politics

Court upholds fine against illegal Saudi-funded mosque in Helsinki The Helsinki Administrative Court ruled that religious activities on the premises did not constitute daycare activities, as specified in a permit for the facilities.

November 6, 2024   

(Yle) The Helsinki Administrative Court has rejected appeals related to a fine imposed last year on a mosque operating in a Helsinki apartment building. The owner of the property, the Ormuspuisto housing company, and the Pohjoismaiden Säätiö (“Nordic Foundation”), which operates on […]

Christians

HS: Finns Party aiming to reduce quota refugees from Muslim-majority countries The government has not yet taken a final decision about Finland's plan to accept quota refugees next year.

October 9, 2024   

(Yle) The Finns Party has proposed reducing the number of quota refugees accepted from Muslim-majority countries while increasing the intake from Christian-majority nations, according to newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. According to sources, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) and acting interior minister Lulu Ranne […]

Law Enforcement

Helsinki court detains three men on suspected Isis-linked terrorism offences Investigators say the suspected offences took place in Helsinki, but there is currently no evidence to suggest Finland faced any threat of a terrorist attack.

September 16, 2024   

(Yle) Helsinki District Court has remanded into custody three men suspected of involvement in the activities of a terrorist group. The three defendants — all believed to be aged in their 30s — were detained by police last Tuesday and remanded on […]

Children & Teens

Police suspect woman repatriated from al-Hol of trafficking own children Investigators believe the mother took several of her children to the war-torn region in 2014, but only two have since returned from the al-Hol refugee camp via a repatriation programme.

July 11, 2024   

(Yle) Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suspects a Finnish woman of aggravated human trafficking of her own children after she brought them to the ISIS “caliphate” in the region of Syria and northern Iraq in 2014. Detective Inspector Jan Aarnisalo, who […]

Clothing

Appeals court rules police justified to forcibly remove hijabs from asylum seekers The two women — citing their religious beliefs — refused to remove their head coverings for police to take registration photos, which were required in order to process their asylum applications.

March 22, 2024   

(Yle) The Court of Appeal in Turku has ruled that police officers were justified in their actions when they forcibly removed hijab head coverings from two female asylum seekers during an incident at a police station in the city of Hämeenlinna in […]

Demonstrations

MOT: Russia planned Islamophobic campaigns in Finland, Sweden to delay Nato membership The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) confirms that they were aware of the Russian intelligence service's plans to incite such demonstrations.

December 4, 2023   

(Yle) Russia made plans to disrupt Finland and Sweden’s accession to joining Nato, according to a secret intelligence report obtained by an Yle MOT investigation. The report found that a Russian intelligence service planned to organise disruption campaigns disguised as demonstrations before […]

Government & Politics

More EU countries threaten to close Russian borders amid migrant surge Latvia and Lithuania say they are monitoring the situation, after Finland accused Moscow of ‘cynical’ actions.

December 4, 2023   

(Politico) A growing number of asylum seekers arriving on the EU’s eastern frontier is forcing Baltic countries to consider border closures with Russia, due to fears the Kremlin is weaponizing desperate people to create a migration crisis on the continent. Latvia, Lithuania […]

Children & Teens

Ministry: No plans to repatriate remaining Finnish children from al-Hol camp According to the Foreign Ministry, the children's mothers have refused to cooperate with Finnish officials, and the militants who run the camp forbid children from being separated from their guardians.

August 5, 2023   

(Yle) The Finnish Foreign Ministry says it has no plans to try to repatriate the remaining Finnish children from the al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria. A senior ministry official told Yle on Saturday that the primary reason is that the children’s […]

Clerics & Preachers

Muslim groups condemn Riikka Purra’s ‘black sacks’ blog comment Purra's 'black sacks' comment, made in 2019, presumably referred to burqas, the full-cover garments worn by some Muslim women.

July 20, 2023   

(Yle) A total of 26 Muslim groups and organisations in Finland have issued a joint statement condemning a blog comment written in 2019 by the country’s finance minister, Riikka Purra (Finns). Purra’s comment, in Finnish but translated here in English, stated: “There […]

Clothing

Finland’s Islamic community demands government take concrete steps towards ‘zero tolerance’ of racism A total of 26 Islamic congregations and organisations signed the joint statement.

July 17, 2023   

(Yle) A group of Islamic communities and organisations in Finland have issued a joint statement calling on the government to take concrete steps towards achieving “zero tolerance” on racism. “We call on the Finnish government and especially Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) […]

Demonstrations

Police: Nato protesters planned, then decided against, Koran burning at Helsinki demo After learning about the plans on social media, police told organisers before the demonstration that burning such a book would be illegal.

January 31, 2023   

(Yle) Some protesters planned to burn a Koran at an anti-Nato demonstration held in Helsink[i] last week, but then reconsidered after learning it would be against the law, according to city police. The Helsinki Police Department’s chief inspector, Heikki Porola, told Yle […]

Children & Teens

Al-Hol relatives may seek compensation from Finnish state Three Finnish children remain at the displacement camp in northern Syria, with a UN committee reprimanding Finland for delaying their repatriation.

October 22, 2022   

(Yle) Relatives of Finnish children living in the Al-Hol displacement camp in northern Syria are investigating the possibility of receiving compensation from the Finnish government. The move comes after the UN Child Rights Committee (CRC) last week issued a severe reprimand to […]

Children & Teens

Ministry: Finland has done everything possible to repatriate Finnish children from Syria Finland takes the ruling by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 'very seriously,' according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.

October 13, 2022   

(Yle) The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has reacted to Wednesday’s ruling against Finland by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The committee declared that Finland had violated the rights of Finnish children in northern Syria by not repatriating them […]

Children & Teens

Finland violated rights of Finnish children in Syria, UN committee finds Three remaining children, aged 5-6, are still being detained 'in closed camps in a war-like zone,' the UN Child Rights Committee said.

October 12, 2022   

(Yle) Finland’s failure to repatriate Finnish children living in Syrian camps was a violation of children’s rights, according to a decision by the UN Child Rights Committee (CRC) published on Wednesday. The committee said its decision was based on a case filed […]

Clothing

Court dismisses charges against police, guards over alleged forced removal of hijabs In its ruling, the Kanta-Häme District Court said it did not find the evidence given by the female asylum seekers to be reliable.

September 30, 2022   

(Yle) The Kanta-Häme District Court has cleared a total of seven defendants — comprising police officers and security guards — of all charges in relation to an incident in which female asylum seekers claimed they were forced to remove their head coverings. […]

Crime

Turku terror attack perpetrator receives additional sentence for assaulting prison guards Abderrahman Bouanane is currently serving a life sentence for two counts of murder with terrorist intent and eight counts of attempted murder with terrorist intent.

July 6, 2022   

(Yle) The District Court of Southwest Finland sentenced Abderrahman Bouanane, the perpetrator of the 2017 Turku terror attack who was previously given life imprisonment for his actions, to five months in prison for two counts of violently resisting an official in the […]

Crime

Convicted Turku terror attacker faces charges for assaulting prison guards Abderrahman Bouanane used violence in order to prevent prison officials from performing their duties, according to the charges.

June 8, 2022   

(Yle) Abderrahman Bouanane, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the Turku terrorist attack in 2017, is facing charges of assaulting guards in a Turku prison. The indictment alleges that in October 2020, while carrying out his 12-15-year sentence, Bouanane took a […]

Crime

Turku terror attacker suspected of kicking, biting prison guards Abderrahman Bouanane is currently serving a life sentence for killing two and injuring eight others in Finland's first legally-defined terror attack.

January 19, 2022   

(Yle) Moroccan national Abderrahman Bouanane, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the Turku terrorist attack in 2017, will face three charges of assaulting guards in Turku Prison. The charges were filed with the District Court of Southwest Finland earlier this month, […]

Government & Politics

Terror laws may be expanded to include incitement, pro-terrorist religious or ideological education The government argues that incitement to terrorism should be punishable, even if it does not pose a concrete risk of crime.

May 20, 2021   

(Yle) On Thursday, the government submitted a bill to Parliament amending anti-terrorism legislation. According to Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson (SPP), the reform is important because terrorism threatens the basic functions of society. The cabinet aims to expand the criminalisation of terrorist […]

Children & Teens

Ohisalo: Repatriated al-Hol families ‘strongly in hands of authorities’ The interior minister says she understands people’s concerns, but she trusts both the social and security authorities.

December 21, 2020   

(Yle) Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo (Green) said she understands that the repatriation of mothers and their children from the al-Hol displacement camp in Syria may raise concerns for people, but she emphasised that security will be ensured through strong cooperation between Finland’s […]

Children & Teens

Foreign Ministry: Swift repatriation lowers risk of radicalisation Finland says it will continue working to bring home Finnish citizens still living in a Syrian detention camp.

December 20, 2020   

(Yle) The Foreign Ministry on Sunday evacuated six Finnish children and two mothers from the al-Hol displacement camp. However, some 15 kids and five mothers still remain interned in the camp housing women and children captured after the collapse of the Islamic […]

Children & Teens

Germany brings home ‘Islamic State’ brides, children from Syrian camps Humanitarian reasons have been cited for flying home several 'IS' brides and children from internment in Syria. At the height of the civil war, the women allegedly traveled to join the Islamist militia.

December 20, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Sunday said he was “relieved” that a “humanitarian” recovery operation had brought home 18 children and five “Islamic State” (IS) brides from Kurdish-run internment camps in northeastern Syria. One of three German women brought back, identified in reports as […]