Finnish government to criminalise Holocaust-denial
The Finnish government has announced its intention to criminalise Holocaust-denial.
The move comes as part of a wider commitment by the Government to “promote equality and gender equality in practice”.
In a statement, the Government said: “Acts motivated by hate against Jews, Muslims, Christians and other religious groups will be prevented and Holocaust-denial will be criminalised. The possibility of criminalising the use of at least Nazi and communist symbols to promote ideology will be investigated.”
Finland’s Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, said: “There is no room for racism in Finland. Political decision-makers must set an example in building a safe and equal society, and we need all of society to take part.”
In July, Vilhelm Junnila, a far-right Finnish minister resigned just days after taking office amid a number of controversies over his past comments. Mr Junnila was reported to have joked about being assigned the number 88 by the Finnish Election Commission as his candidate number in the 2019 Parliamentary election. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is used by neo-Nazis as a code for “Heil Hitler”.
Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.