Wrong opinions are illegal in Finland - Mikko Ellilä sentenced

Helsingin Sanomat: Oikeus määräsi espoolaisen siivoamaan bloginsa rasistisista teksteistä

In translation, the Espoo district court has found a man from Espoo guilty of "ethnic agitation". According to Hesari, he wrote about Africans in such a derogatory and insulting way in his blog that the court decided to fine him and order him to remove the text from the Internet.

According to the district court, he only wrote his offensive statements for purposes of slandering and insulting the ethnic groups in question, and this was decisive in him being found guilty.

I wrote about this whole sorry mess earlier in Finland and the Freedom of Expression - part I, and I am unsurprised but saddened that the court case has run to its expected conclusion.

Ellilä's offending blog post can still be viewed, for the moment at least, here. What does he say in it?

Yes, he makes unfair generalizations about black people and Asian people. Yes, he says things that can certainly be considered rude, inconsiderate and even racist.

He states his opinion on Finnish and EU immigration policy, and cites facts, figures and statistics to support it. According to the Finnish justice system, when that opinion is wrong, it's racism and is a crime.

This is not a free society.