Finland grants residence permit to Oulu stabbing victim

Finland’s Immigration Service has granted a residence permit to Rakibul Hasan Ridoy, a Bangladeshi man who was stabbed at the Valkea shopping centre in Oulu in 2024, Yle reports. The deportation threat he previously faced has been withdrawn for now.

Ridoy had been living with uncertainty for more than six months after the Immigration Service warned him that his residence permit could be revoked and that he could be deported. The reason given was that he was no longer working.

Ridoy stopped working after the stabbing left him with both physical and psychological injuries. He said he submitted several explanations to the Immigration Service with help from a lawyer and friends.

He said he was relieved by the decision and could now focus on recovering. He has also had to deal with Finland’s State Treasury to seek compensation related to the stabbing, while facing financial difficulties.

“I do not know this country’s systems and laws, and I do not have the skills to handle these kinds of matters,” he said.

Ridoy said the attack had shattered his dreams. He had to give up his job and leave his home city, and still struggles daily with fear and health problems.

He said he nevertheless continues to regard Finland as a good country and society, and trusts the people he knows. He still feels afraid in crowds that something similar could happen again.

Ridoy now lives in Vantaa, is looking for work and studying the language. Treatment for injuries sustained in the attack takes time, and his stabbed arm still does not function properly. He hopes to return to working life and contribute to Finnish society.

Two stabbings at Valkea

Two people with foreign backgrounds were stabbed at Oulu’s Valkea shopping centre within a short period in 2024, and racist motives were suspected in both cases.

In June, a man with neo-Nazi ties stabbed a 12-year-old child and tried to strike another child with a knife. Less than a week later, a 15-year-old boy wearing clothing associated with Nazi themes attacked Ridoy. The boy had previously said online that he wanted to kill a dark-skinned person.

A court found both attackers legally insane.