Three Finnish men who embraced neo-Nazi ideology were found guilty Tuesday of committing crimes with terrorist intent including plotting attacks against migrants, critical infrastructure, and their perceived political opponents.
The Paijat-Hame District Court sentenced the main suspect, Viljam Lauri Antero Nyman, to three years and four months in prison on charges of aggravated firearms offences committed with terrorist intent as well as training to commit a terrorist act.
Nyman, 29, was also convicted of a narcotics charge.
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His two accomplices received a sentence of one year and nine months in prison and a suspended prison sentence of seven months, respectively. They were charged with terrorism-related crimes of manufacture of firearms and training to use them, among other things.
Public broadcaster YLE said the case marked the first terrorism conviction in Finland that is linked to far-right ideology.
The Finnish flag is photographed atop the Helsinki City Hall in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, April 3, 2023. (Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The crimes took place between 2021 and 2023.
Finnish prosecutors told the court that the men had produced semi-automatic weapons using a 3D printer in preparation for a “race war” against their opponents.
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The defendants believed that protecting the superiority of the white population justified the use of violence against perceived enemies including immigrants, ethnic and religious minorities, and anti-fascists, prosecutors said.
The men also plotted attacks on key civilian infrastructure such as electricity grids and railroads.
A police investigation showed that the defendants’ activity didn’t progress to the level of preparation for a concrete act of terrorism.
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The fourth defendant in the case, a 66-year-old man, was handed a prison sentence of one year and two months for firearm crimes that were not committed with terrorist intent.