BREAKING NEWS: Susan Ruusunen and publisher acquitted in Vanhanen book case

Court evenly split; Matti Vanhanen plans to appeal judgement

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Helsinki District Court has acquitted Kari Ojala, the main owner of the publisher Etukeno, of charges of violating the privacy of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre). The case centred on disclosures in a kiss-and-tell book published last year entitled Pääministerin morsian ("The Prime Minister's Bride").
      The author of the book, the Prime Minister's former girlfriend Susan Ruusunen, was also acquitted in a split decision handed down early on Wednesday afternoon.
     
The prosecution in the case called for a suspended prison sentence or heavy fines against Ojala for spreading hurtful information about Vanhanen's private life.
      The prosecutor called for a light fine against Ruusunen. Vanhanen himself also demanded what he felt would be nominal damages of EUR 1,000.
      "This shows that Finland is still a country with the rule of law", said Ojala, commenting on the decision to Helsingin Sanomat.
     
The decision was a close one, with two lay members of the tribunal voting for acquittal and one other lay member and the judge voting for conviction. In such a case, when the court is evenly split, the decision goes favour of the defendant.
      Judge Merja Lahti would have imposed a fine on Ruusunen and Ojala. Furthermore, publishers Etukeno would have been obliged to forfeit to the state EUR 36,723 as the proceeds of an illegal act.
     
We shall return tomorrow to this subject and the ramifications of the verdict from the perspective of freedom of speech and indeed the position of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. The court found for instance that Vanhanen had voluntarily opened up in public on similar subjects to some of those covered in the book, and had above all himself commented on his views of the origins of the relationship with Ruusunen. Vanhanen has announced he was not satisfied with the judgement and will be appealing, so the case is not done yet.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Author and publisher point fingers at each other at trial over violation of PM´s privacy (18.2.2008)
  Susan´s book sets off a media feeding-frenzy (7.2.2007)
  Politics goes entertainment (5.12.2006)
  Vanhanen-Kuronen court case begins (15.2.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat