Prosecutors say Cannonball’s main purpose has been to commit crimes. According to Cannonball, the group is no different from other motorcycle clubs.
Päijät-Häme the district court closed on Friday the lawsuit for the dissolution of the motorcycle gang Cannonball. The court will rule on the matter on June 8th.
Prosecutors are demanding the abolition of Cannonball. They had also demanded that Cannonball be suspended for a period of time while the court considered its solution. However, the district court dismissed the prosecutors’ claim.
“If we now issue a temporary ban, it would mean that we have already settled the matter in practice. However, the court wants to make a decision in peace, ”the judge said Juha Kolu justified the court’s decision.
Kolu also emphasized that a temporary ban is an exceptional precautionary measure, the need for which must be carefully assessed.
“The proceedings have not revealed any reasons for imposing a temporary ban for a few weeks after Cannonball has been operating for decades.”
Prosecutors Cannonball MC (CMC) is an unregistered association whose principal and main purpose is to commit criminal offenses. In addition to CMC, they are also demanding that its sub-association Squad 32 be wound up.
Prosecutors say Cannonball is on a par with other motorcycle gangs known for their crimes, such as the Angels of Hell and Bandidos.
“The CMC has been declared an organized criminal group by the Supreme Court, and we have handed down numerous final convictions for this. Organized crime does not enjoy the protection of freedom of association, ”the prosecutor said Anna-Riikka Ruuth said in a final statement to the court.
According to prosecutors, the CMC is a militarily organized and armed organization with an internal hierarchy and strict obedience to its members.
“Looking further at how command relationships manifest themselves in criminal activity, it can be said that the CMC acts like an illegal army, with the upper ones giving orders to the lower ones and these then acting on them,” Ruuth said.
Prosecutors believe Squad 32 is an integral part of the CMC and is a kind of recruitment channel for it, where committing crimes promotes career development.
“Squad 32 operates on the same premises and under the command of CMC. If it were not abolished, the activity could move to its colors and, as it were, to another association. This must be prevented. ”
Cannonball denies the prosecutors’ allegations and says the group is no different from other motorcycle clubs. In general, this is not an association, in which case the application of the Association Act is not even possible, lawyer Mika Ylönen said.
“According to the defendant, this is about trying to apply the law to a situation for which it was not originally intended. And when you try to break a square block out of a round hole, it’s a bit difficult, ”Ylönen said in his closing statement.
According to Ylönen, Cannonball is not fundamentally against the law and good manners, and its hierarchy is also typical of other motorcycle clubs. Cannonball has also denied military organization and arming, stressing that criminal convictions only apply to individual members.
“Considering the court solutions put forward in support of the lawsuit, if there are about 130 members, the percentage of offenders is from a few percent to a maximum of ten percent. Did the legislature mean that such an association would be abolished? What is the limit that too small a percentage of the total number of members have committed crimes, ”Ylönen asked.
Cannonball is the third group that the authorities have demanded in recent years be wound up under the Associations Act. In the past, the neo-Nazi organization The Nordic Resistance Movement (PVL) and the criminal group United Brotherhood (UB) have been wound up by final convictions.
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