Court in Finland finds pro-Kremlin trolls guilty of harassing journalist

10/19/18
A Finnish man was sentenced to over a year in prison on Thursday for defaming and harassing investigative journalist Jessikka Aro, who works for Finnish public broadcaster YLE. Ilja Janitskin, the founder of the right-wing, pro-Kremlin website MV-Lehti, was handed a 22-month prison sentence after being found guilty of 16 charges, including defamation. Johan Backman, a longtime mouthpiece for Moscow in Finland, was also found guilty of defamation and harassing and received a one-year suspended sentence. In its decision, the court said that Backman encouraged others online to target Aro and that the subsequent harassment deeply impacted her quality of life, reported YLE. A female employee at MV-Lehti was also given a three-month suspended sentence. The court ordered the defendants to pay €136,000 ($155,000) in damages, which will be distributed to Aro and two other victims. Thursday's court ruling was viewed as a major win against online hate speech in Finland and exceeded the sentences requested by prosecutors.

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Rogue Valley said:

Court in Finland finds pro-Kremlin trolls guilty of harassing journalist

Finnish journalist Jessika Aro.



Excellent. Take the pro-Kremlin goons to civil court.

Related: Three Internet Trolls Convicted of Systematic Defamation Against Journalist in Finland

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