Finnish neo-Nazi jailed for 2 years over assault

Jesse Torniainen, 26, kicked anti-racism protester in the chest, ultimately leading to his death a week later

HELSINKI, Finland — A Finnish court sentenced a neo-Nazi activist to two years in prison on Friday for kicking an anti-racism protester who fell and later died of head injuries.

The Helsinki District Court found 26-year-old Jesse Torniainen guilty of “aggravated violence” instead of “aggravated manslaughter” as the prosecution had urged, public broadcaster Yle said.

Torniainen kicked the victim, Jimi Karttunen, in the chest after the latter spat on him during a neo-Nazi rally in Helsinki on September 10.

Karttunen, 28, fell to the ground and smashed his head, dying six days later due to bleeding on the brain.

But according to medical reports, Karttunen, a drug abuser, had used unprescribed medications and not followed hospital instructions while receiving treatment, Yle said.

A video shot by the neo-Nazi Finnish Resistance Movement, showing the victim lying on a pavement with a small pool of blood behind his head, was still visible on YouTube on Friday.

Prosecutor Anja-Riitta Rinkinen slammed the court’s decision not to convict Torniainen of manslaughter, saying the victim was killed because he stood against racism.

“An act of violence directed against a person who opposed the racist incitement can be considered to have a racist motive,” Rinkinen told Yle.

“We consider the victim to be such a person.”