HS 5.6.2009
Helsinki
entrepreneur says “humanitarian reasons" prompted him to organize illegal
entry of Chechens
Border
Guard investigates suspected aggravated organizing of illegal entry
Helsinki Internet-entrepreneur Mikael Storsjö says that he
is the man that the Finnish Border Guard suspects of arranging the illegal
entry of 15 Chechens into Finland.
All of the men,
women, and children involved have applied for asylum in Finland and they are
being housed at Finnish refugee reception centers.
The Border Guard announced the suspicion on Thursday, saying
that the Chechens came to Finland through Turkey. The suspect had organized air
travel by three different groups from Istanbul to Finland. He was caught when
he flew in with the first group.
First Lieutenant
Matti Kettunen told Helsingin Sanomat that the suspect is familiar to the
Border Guard, and has been investigated for similar activities before.
What Kettunen did
not say that the man in question is a well-known human rights activist who has
brought in dozens of Chechens before, and was also involved with a Chechen
rebel website that was in the news here nearly five years ago.
Kettunen
emphasised that the actions of the suspect are considered aggravated, because
the cases show indications of organized activity.
In addition to the main suspect, the Border Guard believes
that one Finnish resident and one asylum seeker were involved in organizing the
illegal entry. Kettunen says that there is no sign of any involvement by a
bigger international league.
Reacting to the
press release issued by the Border Guard on Thursday, Storsjö told Helsingin
Sanomat that he was the “main suspect” in the case. He noted that under the
Finnish criminal code, organising entry into the country is not illegal, if
weighty humanitarian considerations are involved.
“I have operated
in the open, and I have nothing to hide in the matter”, he says.
The Border Guard says that two asylum seekers are suspected
of having committed forgery.
Outi Lepola,
refugee expert at Amnesty International, says that the border guard should know
that the entry of an asylum seeker into a country is never illegal, even if it
takes place in an unregulated manner, and with false papers.
Kettunen says
that the case was unusual, in that most of those who entered the country used
their own passports, but they did not have visas or residence permits.
Storsjö says that all of the people that he brought into
Finland had flight tickets from Istanbul via Helsinki to St. Petersburg. As
citizens of Russia they did not need a visa to Finland, or a residence permit,
which means that they were allowed on the plane in Istanbul as transit
passengers.
Storsjö says
that he has used this method to bring in about 50 Chechen refugees in recent
years.
Before coming to
Finland, the Chechens arrived in Turkey through Azerbaijan. In Turkey they
lived in refugee camps.
“They are not
allowed to work, and get no state support. Their children are not allowed to go
to school”, Storsjö said, explaining why he wanted to help them.
