Roundup: Alleged gang rape raises concerns over criminality by immigrants in Finland

Finnish police arrested five young immigrants on suspicion of having raped a young woman outside a suburban railroad station a week ago. The incident has since focused public attention on integration and criminality within immigrant communities in Finland.

Finnish media said the five arrested boys, aged between 15 and 18, are of Somali descent. Charges are expected in a month's time.

A study by the National Research Institute Research of Legal Policy last year indicated higher criminality in some immigrant groups, particularly those with a high ratio of young men.

The institute concluded that difference between immigrants and natives was in part explained by the high proportion of young men and low-median income levels.

The institute also said that the criminal involvement of immigrant groups varied considerably. There are groups with crime and victimization rates that are higher than in the majority populations, but other immigrant groups manifest below average offending and victimization risks.

Abdirahim Hussein, a Finnish-Somali candidate for the upcoming parliamentary election, condemned the alleged rape, but rejected the view that the Somali community in Finland would bear even partial responsibility for the actions of five individuals.

News service Uusi Suomi quoted him as saying that the Somali background of the alleged perpetrators was not the real issue. "The lives of the young men simply are not going well," said Hussein.

While the alleged gang rape took place a month before the general election, political observers are waiting to see how the incident will affect the populist True Finns's leader Timo Soini.

While maintaining his party was not racist, Soini has tolerated a strong anti-immigration segment in his party. He wants to be in the new cabinet, but the recent success of his anti-immigrant cohort during the election could alienate other parties, analysts believe.

The party's policy paper on immigration issued in February suggested measures such as not allowing immigrants who get housing subsidies or public income supplements to decide themselves where to live and, in some cases, setting their legal age for marriage higher than those of native Finns.

It was believed the current Finnish legislation could not accommodate these proposals. But according to media reports, the latest incident may draw renewed public attention to such demands that have largely remained outside mainstream discussion.

Respect of law and Finnish social values are included in a national program on immigrants' integration, managed by a special unit at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.

Talking to Xinhua, Anne Alitolppa-Niitamo from the ministry dismissed the view that the behavior could be related to any lack of knowledge about Finnish conditions. The volume of information about law and sanctions given in the courses varies, "but it should be there," she said.

The program on integration is operated at the community level and its availability varies. Alitolppa-Niitamo noted that an immigrant may have to wait a few months for a course and again later may have to wait until a seat is available in the next stage. Courses are given in Finnish or Swedish and thus require good command of the local languages. Endit