The Turku Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by the Nordic Resistance Movement (PVL) against the decision made by the Pirkanmaa District Court to accept an action by the National Police Board for the abolition of the Finnish branch of the Nordic Resistance Movement, the sub-branches directly or indirectly belonging to the PVL, and the organisation Pohjoinen perinne ry. The Finnish branch of the Nordic Resistance Movement, the sub-branches directly or indirectly belonging to it and their operations will therefore be discontinued.
According to National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen , the National Police Board will examine the contents of the decision in detail. It will then assess the decision's implications.
“The National Police Board is drawing up guidelines on the issue for police departments. Public intervention in demonstrations, for example, will be based on an overall assessment of the situation in question. The Court of Appeal has decided that the movement should be abolished, which means that all related activities must cease and the continuation of the association's activities is a punishable offence. However, the decision is not yet final,” says Kolehmainen.
National Police Commissioner Kolehmainen states that the court decision sends a clear message that the activities of violent and openly racist organisations have no place whatsoever in Finnish society.
The National Police Board brought an action for the dissolution of the Finnish branch and sub-branches of the Nordic Resistance Movement, and the association Pohjoinen perinne ry, early in the year. The grounds for the action were that the activities in question were considered fundamentally unlawful and in breach of good conduct.
