Police investigate Facebook group about Finnish minister as unlawful intimidation
The police in Finland are looking into Internet writings about a Finnish minister as unlawful intimidation. A group was recently set up in Facebook entitled: “I’m prepared to do some jail time for killing Astrid Thors!”
On Friday morning the Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors (Swedish People’s Party) filed a report of an offence regarding the matter. In Thors’s view the setting up of the Facebook group cannot be justified based on freedom of speech.
The group has been set up by a Facebook user, under whose name minority groups and politicians have been threatened before. According to Det. Chief Inspector Tero Haapala, the police are almost positive of the group’s founder’s real identity. Haapala believes that joining the group is not a crime as such. He points out, however, that net conversations are accessible to thousands of people and comments posted in them may fulfil the criteria of a crime.
Astrid Thors has earlier been the target of Internet attacks on her own personal site. In 2007, the chat room of the minister was closed after threats had been made against Thors and her family on the website.
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