Eastern border|According to Major Samuel Siljanen, the general director of the Southeastern Finland Border Guard, a few dozen people cross the border without permission each year.
Southeast Finland the border guard announced on Thursday that it had started a preliminary investigation into the incident in which students from a school in Savonlinna without permission in the border zone.
Ilta-Sanom according to the information, the first graders were on a trip, and those who visited the border zone had separated from the others. According to the newspaper, the schoolchildren recorded on video that they were going around the Russian border post.
The crossing took place at Simpelee in the Kangaskoski district. General director of the Border Guard of Southeast Finland, major Samuel Siljanen according to the border zone is a few tens of meters wide at its narrowest point. The point where the students crossed the border was not the narrowest point.
“We haven’t got lost there by accident,” says Siljanen.
Kangaskoski is the lowest rapid of Hiitolanjoki on the Finnish side, about a kilometer from the Russian border.
Siljanen according to the opening of the preliminary investigation is a usual process in these cases.
Not allowed ten students stayed in the border zone. According to Siljanen, such cases are usually seen as a mild cross-border crime.
Five of the students also visited the Russian side without permission, which is a more serious offense. According to Siljanen, then there is reason to suspect a state border violation.
According to Siljanen, you typically get a 14-day fine for a milder border crime.
“Depending on the length of stay in the border zone, there may be mitigating or aggravating grounds.”
Recentlyin August there was a case where French tourists visited Russia illegally. The prosecutor demands a fine of 30–40 days for each state border crime. In addition to this, a crime victim’s fee must be paid.
All the suspected schoolchildren are minors, but some of them are already 15 years old, which means they are criminally responsible for their actions. Siljanen did not specify whether there were 15-year-olds who went to the Russian side.
According to Siljanen, the schoolchildren had not caused any other damage. The Border Guard has already reached most of the students’ guardians.
Most unauthorized border crossings take place in Finland during the summer. According to Siljanen, there are a few dozen minor state border crimes per year.
“Pretty typical amounts this year. Rarer are these that we visit right on the other side of the national border.”
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