This blog
is a translation of my blog “Suomessa ei käydä kriittistä keskustelua
Venäjän proxyihin värväytyneistä kansalaisistamme” (in English: “There
is no critical discussion in Finland about our citizens enlisted in Russian
proxies”) with small additions. The original blog was written on June 4,
2021. The topicality of the topic in the European context, combined with the
silence of the topic in Finland, served as a stimulus for translating the blog
into English.
Once again,
the court has spoken in a European state and the accused has been sentenced to
imprisonment for terrorism and for belonging to a terrorist organization. This
time it happened in the Czech Republic, where a court sentenced a 32-year-old
man to 20 years in prison for his participation in the Ukrainian war in
Russian-led, organized and equipped forces, i.e., Russian forces. The accused, Martin
Kantor, was convicted of terrorism and a member of a terrorist
organization:
“32-year-old
Czech national Martin Kantor has been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for
fighting on the side of the Russian and pro-Russian Donbas militants. The trial before the Prague Municipal Court
was in absentia, but is important both as a clear deterrent to others, and
because Kantor was found guilty on 1 June 2021 of terrorism and involvement in
a terrorist organization.” (1)
The trial
against Kantor in the Czech Republic was not the first of its kind, hardly the
last. Several similar lawsuits have recently taken place in Europe.
In Latvia,
the court sentenced 40-year-old Beness Aijo to 2 ½ years in prison after
participating in the Ukrainian war in Russian-led forces. Beness Aijo, known as
“Black Lenin”, was found guilty of crimes under Articles 81, 82 and 83
of the Latvian Penal Code, namely involvement in the violent overthrow of the
government, attempts to abolish state independence and undermining Latvia’s
territorial integrity. (2)
Italy is
likely to face a trial more significant than the one in Latvia, after the
country's authorities succeeded in tracing and arresting a 50-year-old former
police officer from Cagliari as part of Operation Lone Wolf. Former
police are accused of involvement in the war in Ukraine in Russia-led troops.
A former
police officer imprisoned in early May was arrested for the first time as early
as 2015, on suspicion of involvement as a mercenary in a war against the
Ukrainian regime. At that time, the detainee was released because there was not
enough evidence that he had taken part in the actual combat missions. The
detainee said during interrogations at the time that he had not “shot
Ukrainian soldiers”.
In Italy,
the authorities had monitored the detainee's bank accounts and found numerous
transfers from a bank account linked to the “Donetsk People’s Republics”
to the suspect’s account. Photographs, video recordings and documents seized by
the authorities and used as evidence against the detainee.
The
detainee is charged with terrorist activities. (3)
In Europe,
the first convictions for involvement in the Ukrainian war in Russian-led
forces or enlisted as a mercenary in a Russian company providing mercenary
services, were given as early as the first years of the war. In the UK,
Benjamin Stimson was sentenced under Section 5 the Terrorism Act 2006
to 5½ years in prison for involvement in the war against the Ukrainian regime
in 2017. (4)
Perhaps
somewhat surprisingly, in Serbia, the judiciary has been diligent in condemning
mercenaries – militants – who fought in Ukraine, in Russian forces. Journalist Maja
Zivanovic in her article “Donbass Brothers: How Serbian Fighters Were
Deployed in Ukraine” also considers the activities of the Serbian
judiciary. (5) At the time of writing and publishing her article in January
2019, twenty-nine Serbs had been convicted of participating in the war in
Ukraine in Russian-equipped troops as mercenaries, sixteen awaiting sentencing.
Compared to
the Baltic countries or many European countries, there is no discussion in
Finland about treating those who fought in the Russian-led forces as volunteers
and condemning them for participating in the war in Ukraine. The silence is
strange, because in Finland there have been discussions about “volunteers”, i.e.,
practically volunteers enlisted in terrorist organizations like ISIS or other illegal
groups, etc.
The last
time the conversation surfaced was more intense a year ago, when three women
and their children returned to Finland from the Al-Hol camp, women had
enlisted in ISIS or had otherwise joined a terrorist organization. The debate
about the threat posed by those enlisted in ISIS has emerged several times over
the past year.
Of course,
significantly more Finns or residents of Finland have enlisted in ISIS than
Finns enlisted in the Russian-led forces during the Ukrainian war, but when we
discuss the threat posed by mercenaries or terrorists returning to Finland, it
is strange that one group is completely forgotten. However, I do not think we
can ignore the security threat they pose by shrugging straw, some of them have
been involved in the battle. They have experience in war and warfare.
There may
be people who have been trained in terrorist activities, much like the Swedish
members of the Nordic Resistance Movement, Anton Thulin and Viktor
Melin, got at the Partizan-lager organized by the Russian Imperial
Movement a few years ago. However, the doctrine they received was so valid
that after camp, on their return to Sweden, they, along with a third far-right
extremist, Jimmy Jonasson, made a couple of successful terrorist attacks
when the third failed.
 |
| Johan Bäckman and Petri Viljakainen in occupied Luhansk (oblast). |
In the case
of those enlisted in ISIS in Finland, there has also been a discussion about
the responsibilities of non-combatants, such as the activities of those
involved in maintenance and propaganda warfare, which should not be underestimated.
For their part, they enable fighting and acts of terrorism; we must not
underestimate the power of propaganda. There is ample evidence of the power of
propaganda for the last century. With the same seriousness, I have not seen a
debate about the activities of propagandists enlisted in Russia. In fact, in
the case of Janus Putkonen, for example, the first news after his
enlistment was amazing, there was even a slight admiration – would we start
admiring a Finn who would enlist in a terrorist organization like Daesh?
And the
interview about Petri Viljakainen published in Länsi-Savo in
August 2019 was not very critical, rather a picture of him was painted as a
naive “poor thing” subject prone to maneuvering. (Note. Viljakainen was a
member of the so-called front forces in the Prizrak Brigade, but I see
his role as more than just an illegal fighter on the front, Finnish Johan
Bäckman also used him a lot in propaganda).
 |
| Länsi-Savo, 6th of August 2019. |
The same
culture of silence prevails when looking at other activities committed by
Finns, those enlisted in Russian troops, or those working for Russia's decline.
I have not noticed a discussion about recruitment activities, of which Johan
Bäckman was one of the key members in Finland, or about financing the
activities – according to Petri Viljakainen, who is now disappeared in occupied
eastern Ukraine, Bäckman paid his expenses when he traveled via St. Petersburg
to Rostov-on-Don and from there to occupied East- Ukraine. According to an
update to Johan Bäckman’s blog “Kohudosentti” –
’DNR's
Helsinki office’ supplies ‘DNR's People's Army’ with Finnish camo suits,
sweaters, balaclavas, combat vests, thermal suits, Gore-Tex costumes, etc. In
addition, the mission provides humanitarian aid to families with children in
Donbass. Finnish volunteers and experts are also leaving for Donbass…. (6)
And more
information:
To traveling
Donbass, you need a passport and a Russian multiple-entry visa. The passport
can be ordered online or from the police station and the visa online or from
travel agencies. ‘DNR's Helsinki office’ pays airline tickets, visa and
passport expenses and equipment to departures. Recruiting or enlisting ‘DNR’ military
does not violate Finnish law. There will be several groups leaving soon, get in
touch and we will find a suitable one for you! (7)
To the best
of my knowledge, no pre-trial investigation has been initiated in Finland
against those Finns who have enlisted in Russian troops and went to war in
Ukraine. I am aware that in at least one case, the Public Prosecutor's
Office has issued a decision which did not require the police to open a
preliminary investigation into the actions of Johan Bäckman and Janus Putkonen
in Finland and Ukraine. The request for an investigation submitted to the
police asked to investigate whether the Bäckman’s activities carried out
constituted terrorist financing and recruitment.
As the
authorities in Finland have not carried out an investigation, we do not know
how significant the military aid sent from Finland has been and who has
financed it. About 20 people from Finland have enlisted in the Russian-led
forces in Ukraine, some of them playing a propagandistic role.
It is
impossible for me to say why no investigation was carried out in Finland into
the actions of Finns enlisted in Russian-led forces. Whether there is a reason
in history (Finnlandisierung), or outdated legislation, or whether there
is a more complex reason behind it – hard to say.
And one
part is then the return to Finland, and how they are treated in Finland. At
least some of them seem to have languished in our society as if nothing had
happened. It is worth noting here, however, that they have not made an account
with their past, but rather seem to justify their actions. Some, such as Jarmo
Ekman, who was the municipal candidate of the Kristallipuolue in
Sastamala, are building a career as a (political) influencer in Finland with
little hiding their background.
What is
interesting on this side is that Ekman seems to have been wanted for more
parties during the municipal elections, however, he chose the Kristallipuolue
for apparently personal reasons. On the other hand, it says something, at least
from the local department of True Finns (perussuomalaiset), when
they have inquired about Ekman in their “ranks” regardless of the background.
In addition to his propagandistic work in occupied eastern Ukraine, his
background also includes sanctions imposed on him by Ukraine, which was also
highlighted in an interview with Tyrvään Sanomat (I refer to the picture
below, which is a partial photo of the interview), as well as serving as the
secretary of the disinformative Toimittajaliitto alongside other
cohesion-breaking influences, factors that do not seem to weigh in the
horizontal cup of the True Finns party at all.
The war in
the eastern parts of Ukraine began in April 2014, the spread of Russian
propaganda in Finland began very soon after that, the first (publicly) enlisted
Finns arrived in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine via Russia in the
following year – hidden from the public, someone may have arrived before this.
Now we live in the summer of 2021, the war in Ukraine continues, just like the
silence in Finland – I’m shamed!
Marko
Sources:
Screenshot
of Johan Bäckman’s blog, in the text he tells what kind of material “DNR Representation”
in Helsinki has taken from Finland to occupied eastern Ukraine. Bäckman himself
is a key figure in the background of the “DNR Representation” in Helsinki, Finland. (6)
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