The comments made by Professor Emeritus Tatu Vanhanen in an interview with Kuukausiliite, the monthly magazine supplement of Helsingin Sanomat, will not bring charges of inciting racism. According to the Deputy Prosecutor General Jorma Kalske, there is no reason to suspect anyone of breaking the law.
In the August interview, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen’s (Centre) father spoke about his studies relating to alleged differences in intelligence between various national groups.
After the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had decided not to launch a criminal investigation into Professor Vanhanen’s remarks, an anonymous complaint was made to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The Deputy Prosecutor General notes that freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Finland, which cannot be limited without very good grounds. Public incitement against a national group is a crime under Finnish law, but a person can be punished only if the comments are aggravated enough.
While understanding that someone might have been offended by the article, Kalske emphasises that Vanhanen’s forthright comments did not contain any specific threat and were not slanderous nor libellous.
