Court acquits Green MP on cannabis charge - prosecutor may appeal

print this

The Helsinki District Court has rejected charges of illegal drug use raised against Finnish Member of Parliament Rosa Meriläinen (Green).
      According to the court, Meriläinen’s admissions in interviews with the magazine Image and on the MTV3 television news that she had used cannabis did not constitute sufficient evidence for a conviction.
      The court found that the prosecution had not reliably established a time, place, or manner that the alleged crime had been committed. According to the indictment, the time of the act was between May 1st, 2003 and April 30, 2004. The prosecution said that the place was "apparently Helsinki". The prosecution sought to impose a fine on Meriläinen for possession and use of a small quantity of cannabis, a controlled substance.
     
In court, Meriläinen refused to say anything about her possible use of drugs.
      Defence lawyer Paul Perovuo said that the charges were "groundless and unspecified". He attributed Meriläinen’s "ill-considered" statements to depression and severe work-related exhaustion.
      The defence said that Meriläinen’s statements in the interviews should not be considered as evidence, because she was ill at the time that she made them. Perovuo also downplayed the significance of the interview with Image, describing it as "humorous and carnival-like, turning everything upside-down".
      The court was also shown a videotape of the interview with MTV3, which concluded with Meriläinen fainting.
     
Meriläinen explained her silence by saying that it is better to be silent when it is not possible to speak. "I do not have anything particularly intelligent to say right now."
      She also had no comment on whether she had used drugs, or had lied about using them, saying that people can draw their own conclusions on that matter.
      The trial took just one hour. When the court started its deliberations, Meriläinen left, saying that she was going directly to a meeting of the Tampere City Council. She said that she has recovered from the bout of depression and exhaustion that she suffered in the spring.
      Meriläinen’s autumn is also overshadowed by family tragedy; her grandfather died on Friday.
     
District prosecutor Tove Myhrberg said that she would consider appealing the acquittal. She said, for instance, that the defence argument concerning Meriläinen’s illness does not mean that she was not telling the truth in the interviews.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Green Parliamentarians criticise drug use and admission by MP (7.5.2004)
  MP admits to cannabis use (6.5.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat