Fouganthine to be returned to closed prison
Nikita Fouganthine, formerly Juha Valjakkala, the man convicted of a triple murder in Åmsele, Sweden in 1988, will end up back in a closed prison.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency decided on Wednesday that Fouganthine’s supervised trial release programme should be cancelled, because of his failure to adhere to its conditions.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency refrains from disclosing the prison where Fouganthine will be placed next.
The trial release has been called off until the beginning of July. The Helsinki Court of Appeal decision to parole Fouganthine in early July is still in force.
Fouganthine may end up having to do time even after the set release date.
If one commits a crime during a trial release, the Criminal Sanctions Agency may recommend the Court of Appeal to postpone the scheduled release date.
The police are currently looking into Fouganthine’s doings during his escape last weekend.
Fouganthine has admitted to stealing a car, driving without a valid licence, and committing aggravated endangering of traffic safety while being pursued by the police.
On Tuesday he nevertheless denied allegations that he had also fled from police in a chase in Vantaa early on Sunday morning, or that he had attempted to solicit money from passengers by operating as an unlicensed taxicab driver.
Police put out a warrant on Fouganthine after he was not at home at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night when his monitors made a spot check.
Under the terms of the trial release programme, he was supposed to have been at home at that time.
At the end of the pursuit Fouganthine gave himself up to the police in Lapland on Sunday night.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency Director-General Esa Vesterbacka does not want to speculate whether the agency might propose the postponing of Fouganthine’s release.
He says the matter will be put under consideration once all the necessary information has been received from the police, in other words, sometime next week at the very earliest.
“This is a new situation for us. We will look into it”, Vesterbacka says.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency has yet to recommend the postponing of a prisoner’s release date because of a crime committed during a trial release.
The trial release programme has been experimented with from the autumn before last. Vesterbacka would also gladly see improvements to the trial release supervision.
Valjakkala was given a life sentence for the murder of three people in Åmsele, Sweden, in 1988. He spent 19 years behind bars. He has made a number of escape attempts.
In 2004 he failed to return from a prison furlough, and in 1994 he escaped with a hostage.
Other escape attempts took place in 2004, 1997, 1991 and 1989.
News of the experimental release programme and his placement on it was met with dismay and anger in Sweden, where Valjakkala's crimes naturally attracted much attention at the time.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency decided on Wednesday that Fouganthine’s supervised trial release programme should be cancelled, because of his failure to adhere to its conditions.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency refrains from disclosing the prison where Fouganthine will be placed next.
The trial release has been called off until the beginning of July. The Helsinki Court of Appeal decision to parole Fouganthine in early July is still in force.
Fouganthine may end up having to do time even after the set release date.
If one commits a crime during a trial release, the Criminal Sanctions Agency may recommend the Court of Appeal to postpone the scheduled release date.
The police are currently looking into Fouganthine’s doings during his escape last weekend.
Fouganthine has admitted to stealing a car, driving without a valid licence, and committing aggravated endangering of traffic safety while being pursued by the police.
On Tuesday he nevertheless denied allegations that he had also fled from police in a chase in Vantaa early on Sunday morning, or that he had attempted to solicit money from passengers by operating as an unlicensed taxicab driver.
Police put out a warrant on Fouganthine after he was not at home at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night when his monitors made a spot check.
Under the terms of the trial release programme, he was supposed to have been at home at that time.
At the end of the pursuit Fouganthine gave himself up to the police in Lapland on Sunday night.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency Director-General Esa Vesterbacka does not want to speculate whether the agency might propose the postponing of Fouganthine’s release.
He says the matter will be put under consideration once all the necessary information has been received from the police, in other words, sometime next week at the very earliest.
“This is a new situation for us. We will look into it”, Vesterbacka says.
The Criminal Sanctions Agency has yet to recommend the postponing of a prisoner’s release date because of a crime committed during a trial release.
The trial release programme has been experimented with from the autumn before last. Vesterbacka would also gladly see improvements to the trial release supervision.
Valjakkala was given a life sentence for the murder of three people in Åmsele, Sweden, in 1988. He spent 19 years behind bars. He has made a number of escape attempts.
In 2004 he failed to return from a prison furlough, and in 1994 he escaped with a hostage.
Other escape attempts took place in 2004, 1997, 1991 and 1989.
News of the experimental release programme and his placement on it was met with dismay and anger in Sweden, where Valjakkala's crimes naturally attracted much attention at the time.
Helsingin Sanomat