A Helsinki court has found journalists Laura Halminen and Tuomo Pietiläinen guilty of revealing classified information about Finnish military intelligence, in a verdict harshly criticized by press associations that see it as an attack on freedom of information.
The investigative article contained details of the «organization, capabilities and supply» of an army communications center in Jyvaskyla, 230 kilometers north of Helsinki.
The article was published in 2017 in ‘Helsingin Sanomat’, one of the country’s most prestigious media outlets, at a time when Finland was discussing a new law to increase the powers of security forces to collect personal information.
The newspaper’s parent company, Sanoma Media, had defended its journalists on the grounds that there were «strong social reasons for writing the article, but the court did not accept their arguments. The case resulted in a fine for Pietiläinen and a guilty verdict without conviction for Halminen.
The president of the Finnish Journalists’ Association, Hanne Aho, has lamented the «surprising verdict that has culminated this unusual trial.» Aho strongly criticized a decision that effectively limits the right of citizens to be informed, according to comments reported by the Finnish public broadcaster YLE.
«It will mark a before and after. Our function is to tell people what is happening in this country, and this right has been restricted,» he added.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
