We hereby share a call to a campaign published by Anti-imperialists – Helsinki on Instagram (@antiimperialistit).
Anti-fascism is not a crime!
On the 6th of December in 2024 the police arrested around 40 anti-fascists that had resisted the assembly of the fascists in Töölöntori. Now the trials against these anti-fascists have begun. During them it has been revealed that the police does not have solid proof against the anti-fascists, instead the Finnish state is trying to arbitrarily punish them for not willing to accept the illegal protection of the assembly of the fascists by the Finnish state and for grasping their duty to resist the assembly of the fascists.
In one of the trials the witness invited to testify against a young anti-fascist was a police officer who admitted that they hadn’t seen the situation where it was claimed that the anti-fascist hit a police officer with a flagstaff, instead they had just heard it from another officer. In addition this “witness” started to speak of an entirely different case in court and couldn’t recognize the charged. Despite this the anti-fascist was given a sentence based on the testimony of the police. We cannot accept this kind of arbitrariness! It is a basic right that one charged with a crime is innocent until proven otherwise.
Because of this false trial fascists have also attacked an anti-fascist on the street after finding out their name and where they live. We strongly condemn these kinds of attacks and the complicity of the Finnish state.
The reliability of the police as a witness is also made questionable by the fact that during the interrogations the police has for example asked anti-fascists to comment on acts that they had clearly not done, showing that the police has not had any idea who did what. The arrested have also reported that the accounting of the police was lacking and that the police seemed confused during the interrogations.
The police acted very violently on the 6th of December and even prevented the media from doing its job. Without any care for human lives it charged into the crowd on horses and for example broke the eyeglasses of an anti-fascists while arresting them. All this was to protect the assembly of the fascists. This assembly breaks Finland’s international duties that have been defined in the Paris Peace Treaty, which bans fascist organizations in Finland. It is not only about the events on the 6th of December, and once again on the 1st of May the police even used a projectile weapon to protect the assembly of fascists in Tampere.
It is about the fact that the Finnish state protects fascists and attempts to criminalize the anti-fascists struggle. We cannot accept that the word of the police is given so much weight in the judicial system that there is no need to provide proper proof to give protesters sentences.
We call on all anti-fascists and progressive forces to resist this attack against basic rights!
Do you want to support the arrested, are you going to court or do you know someone who is?
Contact: tukikampanja@proton.me
Anti-fascism is not a crime!
Condemn the false court processes!
Defend the right to protest!
HIN support campaign group
