The District Court of Helsinki has detained a man for probable cause of assault and grossly negligent homicide in connection with an incident that occurred during a protest staged by the Finnish Resistance Movement (SVL) in Helsinki on 10 September.
The prime suspect in the widely-publicised assault of a man during a neo-Nazi protest outside Helsinki Railway Station on 10 September, 2016, has been detained for probable cause of assault and grossly negligent homicide by the District Court of Helsinki.
The suspect, Jesse Torniainen, has an extensive history of violent transgressions, according to the detention request.
“The case currently under investigation cannot be regarded as an isolated case in light of the suspect's previous violent behaviour but rather as an operational model,” the investigators argue in the request.
The Helsinki-based suspect has been convicted of several counts of assault and possession of a dangerous object, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Torniainen, the newspaper reveals, has for example been found guilty of assault for kicking a victim lying on the ground with another man in 2007, when he was under the age of 18. He may also be face charges for his suspected involvement in a violent far-right protest and two assaults in Jyväskylä in 2015.
Torniainen, by contrast, has argued that the assault was an isolated incident and contested the charges.
“The Finnish Resistance Movement (SVL) prohibits active violence, which may be grounds for expulsion,” he writes in his response to the District Court of Helsinki.
The Helsinki Police Department revealed earlier that a man, identified as the suspect based on security camera footage, kicked another man in the chest during the demonstration, causing the victim to fall down and hit the back of his head on the pavement. The victim died roughly a week after the assault.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
