For reasons of credibility, it would be good if a non-police authority also evaluated the events in the Government Castle, writes HS legal journalist Mikko Gustafsson.
Climate movement During the protests of the August Rebellion, it has been mentioned twice that the Helsinki police operations have slipped towards something that could be called kitchen psychological, even verbal incapacity syndrome.
In the syndrome, most of the words stick to the throat and the rest of the little ones only make the situation worse. There seems to be only one way out.
The solution to the situation is heard and manifested in false speeches, extra bullying, or suspicions of violent crime, but the crumbling prestige must be held together in one way or another.
Of course, this has also been seen in Finland, but the police are not used to expecting it.
Last in October of the year police gassed protesters sitting on the street in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki, when they refused to move off the road. There was a commotion, and the Police Board prepared a report on the case for the Ministry of the Interior.
Among other things, the Police Board recorded its views on traffic jams in the report.
“In the opinion of the police government, the activities of the protesters at that stage were no longer the kind of civil disobedience that would have fallen within the scope of peaceful freedom of assembly,” it stated.
The final legal assessment of police action is made by the prosecutor and possibly the court, but at the moment six police officers are suspected assault and breach of duty due to the gasification operation.
Thus, at least the prosecutor-investigator has not been convinced by the arguments of the police, which can be well understood in common sense. A seated person does not change from peaceful to anything else, no matter how the words are translated.
Confused the tangle was also followed at the end of last week, when the August Rebels hanged on the steps of the Government Castle in front of Senate Square.
Police reported that politicians have been moved out of the building on alternative routes. It also said on Twitter that it does not tolerate influencing the state.
Police dragged more than 50 protesters into the tube and kept people there more than 24 hours. Police said they suspected stubbornness, blocking the meeting and a flagrant breach of public peace.
The security staff of the Government Castle did not consider the situation to be a threat, and the HS supplier outside the building described calm the situation.
Increasingly special police action began to take effect, when the Minister of Education Li Andersson (left), Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko (Central) and the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö said they had left the Government Palace on a completely normal route.
It was also surprising that the influence of state power mentioned by the police is, of course, an accepted reason for gathering in a democratic system.
Police said later that its communication and snapshot were flawed. Mistakes happen to everyone, but have they been corrected by the police now?
At the very least, it is unclear what the police’s suspicions of a gross breach of public peace and the obstruction of the meeting are based on.
Violation of public peace requires, for example, intrusion into a forbidden building or a forbidden yard area. The hallmark of the outrageous act mentions intrusion into a government building, but then individuals should strive inside.
For example, a professor of criminal law Kimmo Nuotio In an interview with HS, the University of Helsinki did not, in principle, see the steps of the Government Castle as a space where the characteristics would be realized.
Read more: Elokapina protesters are suspected of a relatively rare crime, now police said they had misjudged the security threat – this is how investigators assess the situation
Fulfillment of the criteria for obstructing a meeting would, in turn, require, under the Penal Code, that the person has attempted to prevent the violence by using or threatening a meeting, procession or event for public purposes.
In Finland police authority is not based on unpredictable behavior or threat. The role of the police is to act as a kind of sensible adult when a person is unable to do so for one reason or another.
When the police deviate from this role, the action easily seems reckless and oversized. At the same time, the police run the risk of being ridiculed.
This is exactly what the police seem to have done as a result of Operation Elokapina.
By Saturday night, the dismay of researchers, journalists, and organizational people on social media had turned into open ridicule. Among other things, Twitter’s grimaces asked why the demonstration could not be held in a remote location, and compared a police bulletin of events to an action detective. Ilkka Remeksen to the most recent book.
The police activities must be based on law. Now, in two Elokapina operations, there are indications that the police have justified their use of force or suspected criminal titles with descriptions that do not stand up to scrutiny.
How many times can the police make a mistake in such a serious connection?
The protests of the August Rebellion have become a long-term phenomenon, so police action cannot be based solely on the prompt judgment of police officers leading individual operations. Responsibility for legal and sustainable operations lies with the management of the department.
Police Board said on Monday to take the events of the Government Castle into its internal legality review. It starts with an investigation by the Helsinki police.
Above all, police operations should be considered in the Helsinki police. If the department does not soon generate truly self-critical thinking about what is going wrong with Elokapina repeatedly, more damage could come.
For reasons of credibility, it would be good if a non-police authority also evaluated the activities of the police at the Government Castle in due course.
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