Ombudsman questions overnight transfer of prisoner across Finland

Finland’s Parliamentary Ombudsman has criticised the timing of a nearly 10-hour overnight transfer of a remand prisoner from Rovaniemi to Hämeenlinna in January 2025, Yle reports.

The prisoner, who had been arrested in Kolari, was taken to Hämeenlinna Prison in seven different police vehicles. The ombudsman, Jari Råman, found no fault with the individual police patrols, which followed their supervisors’ orders, but said the timing of the overall operation was open to criticism.

Seven vehicles and no separate breaks

The transfer began in Rovaniemi at 8.30pm and ended in Hämeenlinna at 6am the following day. The prisoner travelled through Tervola, Ii, Kärsämäki, Pihtipudas, Lintulahti, Korpilahti and Orivesi as police patrols from different departments took turns transporting him.

The vehicles were vans, where the prisoner had only a wooden bench or the floor in the transport compartment. No separate breaks were scheduled, although the prisoner had opportunities to get out while vehicles were changed.

The prisoner alleged that he was not given food or drink and could not use a toilet. Police said food, including yoghurt, bread and juice, was offered, but that he ate little. Officers said they asked at least twice whether he needed to use a toilet, and he said he did not. Some patrols also included an officer of the same sex in case an escorted toilet visit was needed.

Transfer was not marked urgent

The prisoner had been arrested in Kolari on the basis of a wanted notice and remanded in custody. A district court ordered him transferred to Hämeenlinna Prison. The police operations commander decided to begin the journey that evening rather than wait until morning.

The transfer order said the prisoner was to be taken to Hämeenlinna Prison but did not require an immediate transfer. The police commander’s understanding that the matter was urgent had come from information given by phone, rather than directly from the transfer order. In its response to the ombudsman, the National Police Board said the journey would, in retrospect, have been better made during the day.

The Lapland Police Department said prisoners should in future be transferred to the nearest prison, such as Oulu in this case, with onward journeys arranged through the prison-to-prison transport system. The Criminal Sanctions Agency said its route-based transport system could have taken several days, including overnight stays at prisons along the way.