Founder of Neo-Nazi group sentenced for aggravated assault in Finland

The Helsinki District Court has sentenced a founder of the Finnish Resistance Movement to two years in prison for aggravated assault, Finnish media reported on Friday.

The court ruled 26-year-old Jesse Torniainen, a founding member of the extreme right-wing organization, was guilty of aggravated assault for kicking a 28-year-old man outside the Helsinki railway station in September this year. The victim died of his injuries several days later.

Prosecutors had called earlier for a sentence of five and a half to six years for aggravated assault and aggravated involuntary manslaughter.

However, the court found no evidence that the death of the victim was caused by the head injuries he sustained when he fell after the offender kicked him in the chest, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported.

According to Yle, district prosecutor Anja-Riitta Rinkinen was disappointed with the court decision on the case, and intended to appeal the judgment and to call for heavier punishment.

Rinkinen believed that the death of the victim had no reason other than the kicking in the chest that caused the skull fracture, and the defendant had a racist motive. Endit