Parliament's Constitutional Law Committee says Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) broke the law in his efforts to repatriate Finnish citizens from the al-Hol camp in northern Syria — but he should not be prosecuted.
At a press conference on Wednesday evening, the committee said it had found that there is no reason to bring charges against the minister, who ran for president in 2012 and 2018.
The committee did however announce that Haavisto operated in contravention to the Administration Law and the Foreign Relations Act.
The matter turns on whether Haavisto was wrong to move senior foreign ministry official Pasi Tuominen to other duties after a difference of opinion over the repatriation of Finnish citizens from Syria.
Nine of the experts heard in committee found that there was no reason to reproach Haavisto for his actions, while three said his behaviour deserved a reprimand but that he should not be prosecuted.
Higher threshold
The Finnish constitution sets a higher threshold for prosecution under these laws than for ordinary crimes, and the committee found that this higher threshold had not been reached.
The committee's decision was not unanimous, with the two Green MPs on the committee voting against the wording and publishing a dissenting opinion read by committee member Bella Forsgren at the press conference on Wednesday.
MTV had reported on Tuesday evening that a Green MP had sent an email trying to persuade MPs from government parties on the committee to soften the wording of the decision, but it appears that attempt failed.
That MP, Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto, said on Twitter that she had sent the email and that those who leaked it had breached her confidentiality.
Committee chair Johanna Ojala-Nieminen said on Wednesday that leaking of the committee's proceedings had been problematic, and that Speaker of parliament Anu Vehviläinen had called a meeting on Thursday to get to the bottom of things.
A vote of all 200 MPs will make the final decision on whether or not to press charges against Haavisto.
Contentious camp
The families in al-Hol have been a bone of political contention since it emerged that Finnish citizens were in the camp.
The Foreign Ministry has said that it has a responsibility to help Finnish children return to Finland, as conditions in the camp are 'unbearable', there is a strong risk of radicalisation for those who stay there, and the children have no possibility to attend school.
Three families returned to Finland in May, and another in August, with the ministry stating that it is looking to help any Finnish children remaining in the camp to get to Finland.
In December 2019 then-Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni (Cen) caused an international outcry after she posted and then deleted an Instagram poll asking her followers to vote on whether 'Just the children' or 'mothers and children' should be helped to leave the camp.
Shortly afterwards a group of Christian Democrat, Finns Party and National Coalition MPs asked the Constitutional Law Committee to investigate whether Haavisto had operated within the law in trying to repatriate the camp's Finnish residents, prompting the probe that led to the committee's decision.
