Finland: Journalist Laura Halminen Convicted By Helsinki Court; CFWIJ Demands Her Immediate Acquittal

Location:  Finland, Helsinki
Date: January 27, 2023

Photo Credit: LEHTIKUVA / Martti Kainulainen

Helsinki District Court has convicted journalist Laura Halminen for allegedly disclosing state secrets in the infamous Finnish Intelligence Research Center case. The Coalition For Women In Journalism expresses grave alarm over the court's decision. We demand that Laura Halminen is absolved of all charges against her. 

On January 27, the Helsinki District Court ruled to convict Helsingin Sanomat journalist Laura Halminen and her colleague Tuomo Pietiläinen over allegedly divulging state secrets in the infamous Finnish Intelligence Research Center case. The sentences in the case were more moderate than feared. However, the verdict, along with the five-year-long investigation, and the initial threat of imprisonment for the journalists, poses an alarming danger for the free flow of information in Finland.

According to the district court's recent verdict, the articles contained several pieces of information about military intelligence, which had been regulated to be kept secret for the sake of Finland's external security. Furthermore, the Viestikoekeskus article in Helsingin Sanomat's website was ordered to be removed and "destroyed".

On December 16, 2017, Halminen and her colleague started to publish a series of reports aiming to examine the role and conduct of the Finnish Intelligence Research Center, a military intelligence think tank. The articles were published in Finland’s leading daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The articles centered on plans to empower Finland’s security services to execute surveillance and covert operations domestically and abroad. However, due to the backlash by the government after the first publication, subsequent articles of the series were dropped. 

On December 17, 2017, Halminen broke a laptop computer in the basement of her apartment building by hitting it with a hammer. The computer had caught fire, and a police patrol arrived on the scene in addition to the rescue service unit. Based on the information received from the police patrol, the head of the investigation had the impression that the computer breach was related to the classified material discussed in the article. Because of this, he issued an order to confiscate the broken computer and then an order for a special search of the journalist's home, in connection with which, among other things, various devices and storage media were seized from the journalist.

The district court considered that the coercive measures were legal and that the file found on the memory stick could be used. The reporter appealed the decisions to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal considered that the coercive measures used met the requirements of the Coercive Measures Act due to the suspicion of a crime regarding the disclosure of a security secret.

Nevertheless, no evidence was found that concrete harm or danger was caused to the interests of national defense or state security. The purpose was to inform the public about the new intelligence legislation. Despite this, the court claimed that the journalists had taken a “conscious risk” and must have known that publishing even old intelligence information could be harmful to national security. The court asserted that the publication of such in-depth intelligence information could only have been acceptable if it was, for example, a significant revelation about abuse of power.

Helsingin Sanomat emphasized that all the information published in the story was available in public sources. According to testimonies given at the court hearings, the Finnish Defence Forces was cognizant of the fact that Helsingin Sanomat was investigating their intelligence operations. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is pleased that no prison sentence was given to Laura Halminen. However, we condemn the five-year-long investigation and trial of the journalist. The threat of imprisonment for a journalist doing their work is utterly unacceptable in a free democracy. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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