Racism | The government intends to reduce the punishments for denying the Holocaust – The professors were surprised

Government plans to propose an amendment to the Criminal Code, which would reduce the maximum penalty for denying the Holocaust, for example.

In recent years, Finnish courts have considered that denying the Holocaust fulfills the characteristics of incitement against a national group. Incitement against a national group can be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years.

Now the government is proposing a new penalty provision for the prohibition of serious international crime in the Criminal Code. Based on the draft law, it can be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of one year. The draft is in the opinion round and after that a board proposal will be prepared.

Anyone who publicly denies, defends or seriously downplays mass destruction, a crime against humanity, a crime against humanity, a crime against humanity, a crime of aggression, or a war crime determined by a final decision of an international court, on the grounds referred to in § 10, in a manner that is apt to incite violence or hatred and disturb public order, must be convicted of denying a serious international crime and fined or imprisonment for a maximum of one year.

A change in the law the root cause is the framework decision adopted by the member states of the European Union in 2008 to combat racism and xenophobia.

The European Commission started in 2021 against Finland infringement procedurebecause the belittling of mass destruction and other crimes against humanity is insufficiently criminalized in the criminal law.

In addition, the government announced last year in its equality communicationthat Holocaust denial is criminalized. In its communication, the government announces its commitment to promoting equality and non-discrimination and to work to reduce racism.

Helsinki the university’s professor of criminal law Kimmo Nuotion think that the government gives a contradictory message in the draft law about its approach to combating racism.

“In its communication on equality, the government commits to combating racism, but in this draft law, it proposes a lower maximum penalty for the prohibition of a serious international crime than what is currently applied to it. It seems that the government wants to play down Holocaust denial.”

Because of the violation procedure initiated by the commission, Sweden also made a somewhat similar addition to the criminal code this year, but the maximum penalty is two years in prison. Denying the Holocaust is still condemned in Sweden as incitement against a national group.

Based on the framework decision, it is possible in itself that the maximum penalty for denying a serious international crime would be one year in prison. The framework decision still only determines the minimum level of the penalty scale. That is, the member state has the discretion to assess the reprehensibility of the act.

“If the maximum penalty is reduced, it is always a statement on the reprehensibility of the act. When the act is less reprehensible than before, it means lighter punishments. In Sweden, the reprehensibility of denying the Holocaust has been assessed differently than in the Finnish government’s draft law,” says Nuotio.

Turku of the university’s assistant professor of criminal law Tatu Hyttinen according to that, in the last ten years, the courts have sentenced incitement against a national group to an average of 40–50 daily fines for a single act.

“If, according to the draft law, the parliament sets the maximum sentence to one year, it probably means that, for example, the denial of the Holocaust will be sentenced to lighter sentences than currently. I would also draw attention to the fact that the maximum penalty of one year is not justified at all in the draft law,” says Hyttinen.

In Finland, the Supreme Court has not issued a decision regarding the criminal evaluation of denying the Holocaust or other serious international crimes.

However, in its decision regarding the liquidation of the Nordic resistance movement, the Supreme Court stated that the association has also called the Holocaust into question.

In several of its rulings, the European Court of Human Rights has held that the sanctions imposed for denying the Holocaust have not been a violation of freedom of speech.

“The draft law takes into account the requirement of the framework decision, according to which the maximum punishment for denying the Holocaust must be 1-3 years. In the draft law, we have started from what the framework decision requires at least, because it is a separate provision of the criminal law,” says the legislative adviser Jussi Matikkala from the Ministry of Justice.

Has the civil service been given political guidance in the matter?

“In all legislative projects, the records of the government’s program are always taken into account, but in this case specifically the framework decision and the government’s equality notification. The draft has been discussed with the minister, as with legislative projects in general,” says Matikkala.

Minister of Justice Leena Merta (ps) could not be reached for comment on Sunday.