The Supreme Court has handed academic Johan Bäckman a 60 day suspended prison sentence over his harassment of Yle journalist Jessikka Aro.
Known for his close ties to Russia, Bäckman repeatedly sent private messages to Aro on Facebook suggesting they meet up. He also published articles via Twitter and Facebook that the court ruled had mocked and belittled Aro.
Bäckman tagged Aro in most of his Twitter posts, so that she would see them.
The court therefore found that Bäckman’s communication with and writings about Aro via messages and public posts constituted stalking under Finland's Penal Code.
The Supreme Court had assessed the case from the perspective of Bäckman's freedom of speech, but also from the viewpoint of protecting Aro's privacy as well as the importance of Aro's own freedom of speech.
Bäckman’s messages and posts stemmed from an article written by Aro about Russia’s influence on the flow of information.
Court: Bäckman tried to silence Aro
In its ruling, the Supreme Court found that Bäckman's messages and posts were not intended to address a matter of public interest, but rather to limit the debate as well as to silence and belittle Aro.
"They mainly focus on Aro as a person, such as her appearance and use gender-specific expressions and mocking terms. The messages are malicious and derogatory throughout," the court's statement said.
Bäckman's right to freedom of speech was not found by the court to be a justification for his actions, and furthermore that his conduct had been likely to cause anxiety.
"It was foreseeable for Bäckman that this would cause anxiety and he could not have been mistaken about this," the court said.
His behaviour had continued for a prolonged period, and was varied and unpredictable — making it difficult for Aro to continue her work.
The court ordered Bäckman to pay Aro compensation totalling 9,000 euros in relation to the charge of stalking, and an additional 9,200 euros for loss of earnings, among other things.
However, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the Court of Appeal in relation to an additional charge of defamation, ruling that Bäckman's actions did not meet the legal definition of the term.
Both appealed Court of Appeal judgement
Both Aro and Bäckman had applied to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal a previous verdict, which stemmed from articles published by MV Lehti, a website known for publishing false news and anti-immigrant sentiments.
In July 2020, Helsinki Appeals Court upheld Bäckman's conviction for inciting the website to publish offensive material about Aro, but acquitted him of the separate charges of defamation and stalking.
Aro was granted leave to appeal that verdict and asked that the Supreme Court find Bäckman guilty of stalking. Bäckman, in turn, also received leave to appeal and demanded that the charge of incitement be dismissed.
