Prisoner accused of attempted murder at Riihimäki prison

Perttu Oskari Pyynönen is facing an attempted murder charge at the Kanta-Häme District Court on Thursday over an alleged attack at Riihimäki Prison in June 2025, Yle reports.

Pyynönen, who is serving a life sentence, is attending the hearing remotely from prison. The case was scheduled to be heard in May but was postponed.

According to MTV News, Pyynönen allegedly stabbed another prisoner in the neck during the incident. The victim was taken to hospital.

Yle is publishing Pyynönen’s name before the verdict because he has been assessed as an extremely dangerous offender and has previously been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Pyynönen, born in 1998, was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison for murder and aggravated rape at Vantaa Prison. The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, and the Supreme Court did not grant leave to appeal against the rape conviction. The courts found that he was legally responsible for his actions.

According to the 2023 judgment by the Itä-Uusimaa District Court, Pyynönen and an accomplice humiliated and subjugated the victim before killing him in a cell at Vantaa Prison. The victim was subjected to severe violence, including being forced to swallow cigarette butts and drink cleaning liquid. The men killed him by suffocation.

Pyynönen also caused a disturbance in the courtroom during the earlier murder trial in May 2022. He moved aggressively towards his accomplice while holding a plastic knife brought from prison and was later convicted of threatening a person being heard in legal proceedings.

Statistics from the Criminal Sanctions Agency show that violence between prisoners has increased slightly in recent years. Violence against prison staff almost doubled last year compared with the previous year, according to Yle. The agency has attributed the situation to a rapid increase in the prison population, with prisons reported to be full.