Finnish Judicial System under Political Pressure

The Russian mother of the kidnapped Russian child Anton Rimma Salonen has appealed to the Supreme Court contesting her verdict passed by the Court of Appeal. 

Rimma Salonen is convinced that Finnish judicial system is under strong political pressure. Russian boy Anton was violently kidnapped in Russia from his mother by the group of people, including the boy’s Finnish father, who is now under criminal investigation.

After the kidnapping Anton was being kept in the Finnish consulate for several weeks and then smuggled to Finland in the trunk of the diplomatic car with the help of the former Finnish consul Simo Pietilainen, who is also under criminal investigation, on 8 May 2009.

Soon after the incident 14.5.2009 in the public TV interview Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb defended the illegal actions of Finnish diplomats regarding the abduction and smuggling of the child stating that Finnish diplomats acted “correctly, legally and humanely”. Finnish Foreign Minister also stressed that the father of the boy was his legal guardian and implied that the child’s Russian mother was the culprit even before any charges were pressed against the boy’s mother Rimma Salonen. So Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb has demonstrated his contempt towards the Finnish Court acting as a judge himself deciding on the fate of the child, passing the guilty-verdicts and taking the legal decisions in his own hands.

Due to the above mentioned statements of Finnish Foreign Minister the case against Rimma Salonen was already confirmed even before the official charges. Up to the present moment in the case of Rimma Salonen Finnish judicial system hasn’t demonstrated any independence from the political decisions. The mother has received the guilty-verdicts even without any strong evidence against her. The only argument against the mother is that she dared to travel with her son to Russia, which was automatically classified as kidnapping, though when travelling the mother was also the boy’s legal guardian.

In Finland the child has been separated from his Russian mother, but hardly the boy’s feelings are of any concern to the Finnish “Supreme judge” Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

Blackmailing Russia

At the St. Petersburg press conference 9.12.2010 prominent Finnish human rights activist PhD Johan Bäckman raised the issue of human rights violations in Finland. Johan Bäckman suggests that Finland is blackmailing Russia with children by keeping Russian children hostage. In Finland during a very short period of time Russian children have been taken away from their Russian parents by Finnish authorities. At the conference Russian mothers tell their heartbreaking stories – families torn apart, children deprived of their parents by authorities, moral abuse as well as national and religious discrimination.    

http://antifasistit.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_10.html

Almost 2 years ago, Russian boy Anton Salonen, a citizen of Russian Federation, was violently kidnapped from his mother in Russia and with the support of the Finnish diplomats illegally hidden in the Finnish consulate in St. Petersburg for a month, and then the child was smuggled in the trunk of the Finnish diplomatic car across the border.

Immediately after that country's leadership, denying the Russian citizenship of Anton, blamed Russia, which has not acceded to the Hague Convention on child abduction. Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said referring to the abduction and smuggling of the Russian boy Anton that Finnish diplomats had acted “correctly, legally and humanely”.

Doctor Bäckman informs that in Finland Anton Salonen has been subjected to the process of de-Russification: Finnish authorities forbade him to speak his native Russian language, to meet with his Russian mother, denied the boy’s Russian citizenship, banned the child from all ties with the Orthodox religion, took away his cross, and against his mother Rimma Salonen was fabricated a criminal case. According to Finnish authorities citizen of Russia being the child’s legal guardian did not have the right to go to Russia with her son. Anton’s mother Rimma Salonen has been blackmailed and given ultimatums in order to silence her.

Finnish human rights activist is convinced that while the Finnish authorities continue to put pressure on Russia with the requirement to sign the Hague Convention, Anton Salonen is virtually held hostage by the Finnish government. He is guarded by Finnish security services, local police must know the whereabouts of the boy at any moment, Mother Rimma has the right to meet with him only twice a month for 2-3 hours under the supervision of intelligence services, police and social workers, including police cars, and even a helicopter. Communicating in Russian has been strictly prohibited (though starting from November under the pressure of Russian authorities the interpreter has been provided to interpret for the guards, so the mother and the child could communicate in their native language – Russian). In an interesting way the future of certain members of the Finnish government, many of whom were directly involved in the realization of illegal actions regarding the abduction and trafficking of Anton from Russia to Finland, depends on this child.

Finnish authorities and journalists persistently try to hide the fact that former Finnish diplomat Simo Pietiläinen, who smuggled the child, as well as the father of Anton Paavo Salonen are under criminal investigation (see  http://evgeniahj.blogspot.com/2010/11/lapsikaappaus-suomeen.html). Disclosed information suggests that Anton might face deportation to Norway so that his half-brother (Paavo Salonen’s eldest son) could become Anton’s legal guardian. Johan Bäckman assumes that apparently in Norway, the secret services would be able to protect the child more effectively from the Orthodox cross and the love of his Russian mother.
  

In the case of Valentina Putkonen Finnish authorities without a court decision deported Valentina’s daughter Julia (Julia Putkonen) to Russia to the girl’s Finnish father, although in the Salonen's case a trip to Russia was almost automatically recognized as a serious criminal offense. Valentina Putkonen’s daughter is also being isolated from the Orthodox faith, can meet with her mother only once in 2 months for 2 hours, without permission to speak Russian, and in the presence of Finnish social workers. According to Johan Bäckman, Julia Putkonen is now also held hostage by the Finnish government in Kaayani (Northern Finland) at her grandmother’s place. Thus, the Finnish authorities have deprived the girl of both parents.

Julia Putkonen, an innocent girl, wishes to receive only 1 Christmas gift - to meet with her mother. But doctor Bäckman suspects that the girl’s destiny is to be held hostage by the Finnish government, which blackmails Russia to sign the Hague Convention.

Almost miraculous seems to be the story of Russian boy Robert Rantala, who was taken away from his parents to the orphanage. After the visit of the Russian ombudsman Pavel Astakhov to Finland Robert Rantala was able to return to his family. But the Finnish authorities continued proceedings against Robert’s Russian mother Inga Rantala, who escaped with her child to St. Petersburg in the summer 2010, where Robert has already started school. Johan Bäckman points out that among the Russian children-hostages in Finland Robert is still the only one who has been liberated.

”The well-known cases of Robert Rantala, Anton Salonen, Julia Putkonen and other Russian children-hostages suggest that Finnish authorities use children as a new weapon of information warfare. By means of bullying and serious violations of human rights of Russian children and their parents, Finland, in violation of international conventions and its own laws, shows Russia that it is entitled to all sorts of things, while Russia has not signed the Hague Convention on child abduction. This is blackmail and extortion, and it is well known that in these cases Finland itself violates international conventions and its own laws.”

The Russian side is being taking certain measures in order to release the innocent children and to protect the lives and health of its citizens.

Russia and WikiLeaks

Western media often tries to present the current political situation in Russia as an ongoing struggle between the groups of two political leaders – President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime-minister Vladimir Putin. According to the documents published by the famous WikiLeaks American diplomats describe the relationship between Putin and Medvedev as the hierarchy of Batman and Robin.

When asked about the mentioned above reference Vladimir Putin answered in his interview given to CNN’s Larry King:

“Well, you know when Mr Medvedev and I were considering how to structure our relations and how to run the election campaign, the 2008 presidential election campaign, we were very well aware that many would try to create a split in our common approach to the building of the Russian state and the development of our economy. Because our interaction is a considerable factor in the country’s domestic policy. But it did not occur to us that it would be done in such an impudent, brazen and aggressive fashion.
Such claims of course are aimed at insulting one of us, at damaging our sense of pride and at provoking us into taking steps that would destroy our effective interaction in running the country. I have to tell you that we have already grown used to this. I urge all those who are engaged in such attempts to calm down.”

(Video interview and transcript of the TV interview Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave to CNN’s Larry King are available on the Prime Minister’s site.)

Larry King also asked Russia’s Prime Minister about the leak of diplomatic correspondence published by the WikiLeaks group?

Vladimir Putin: “Some experts believe that somebody is deliberately “inflating” WikiLeaks. Building up the site’s authority in order to use it to further their political ends. That is one possible theory, and this is the opinion of experts, which has some currency in our country too. I think that if this is not the case, it shows that the diplomatic service should be more careful with its documents. Such leaks have happened before, in the previous era. I don’t see it as any kind of catastrophe.”


The phenomenon of WikiLeaks should be examined thoroughly. Russia’s main TV channel (TV1) offers its political analysis provided by prominent experts, who suggest WikiLeaks being a CIA project. The main figure of WikiLeaks Julian Assange seems to be a person from nowhere, who has constantly been moving from one place to another. It sounds quite ridiculous, that several governments try to arrest Assange, but can’t succeed. Information published by WikiLeaks doesn’t really contain any revelations, the statistics on wars is controversial: the numbers of casualties are even smaller than the official statistics suggests.

http://www.1tv.ru/news/leontiev/166201

The promotion of WikiLeaks by western mass media looks suspicious, too. WikiLeaks is somehow portrayed as the Voice of Truth and kind of impartial referee, but in fact it seems to be a special project designed by one of the major political players to serve the player's particular interests.