Finnish man sentenced for ethnic incitement, infringement on religious freedom

A Finnish court sentenced a man to 40 days in prison for ethnic incitement and breach of peace of religious faith, local media reported on Thursday.

The 38-year-old man has been convicted of several online crimes, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported.

He allegedly slandered, verbally abused and threatened Muslim nationals of African and Middle Eastern origins living in Western countries.

According to the prosecutor, the man incited people to believe that Muslim groups from Africa and the Middle East were beneath Western people.

The accused also published some insulting pictures targeting Islam and Muslim people on his Facebook account.

Despite the request of police, he refused to remove the messages of hatred and insulting pictures from the Internet.

Furthermore, the man was also found guilty of the illegal collection of money and possession of child pornography.

Yle reported that the man denied the allegations on the ground of freedom of expression. Endit