DISINFO: Court ruling in Finland: authoritarian regime repressing people for their opinion
SUMMARY
Court ruling against “Kremlin trolls” in Finland: authoritarian regime repressing people for their opinion.
RESPONSE
Ilja Janitskin - the founder of anti-immigration websites MV-lehti and Uber Uutiset - was found guilty of 16 criminal charges related to his websites and handed a prison sentence of one year and 10 months by Helsinki District Court. The criminal charges included
Three counts of aggravated defamation
Two counts of aggravated incitement against an ethnic group
Three counts of copyright infringement
Two counts of breach of confidentiality
Two counts of illicit gambling charges
Four counts of illicit fundraising charges.
The aggravated defamation charges were related to three complainants. They, according to testimony, had received death threats and offensive messages including ones about their appearance as well as threats of sexual violence, prompted by articles posted on Janitskin's sites. Johan Bäckman received a one year suspended sentence for harassing and defaming Yle journalist Jessikka Aro and also inciting others to defame her. Bäckman had taken aim at Aro for writing about Russian internet trolls trying to influence public discourse in Finland. Source: yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/anti-immigrant_agitator_ilja_janitskin_gets_22-month_jail_sentence/10463931,