Police officer testifies in Helsinki court over alleged defamation by Helsingin Sanomat article

In the Helsinki District Court today, a police officer is testifying regarding a 2021 article by Helsingin Sanomat, which the prosecutor claims damaged his honor and invaded his privacy. The article reported that the officer had initiated a relationship with a young man whom he had previously investigated for a sexual offense.

The officer has acknowledged the relationship and admitted that he became aware that the young man was the victim in the case he was handling. He asserts that the article contained false information about him and is seeking €30,000 in damages for his suffering.

The prosecutor is calling for conditional imprisonment for the article’s author and editor-in-chief, Antero Mukka, while the previous editor-in-chief, Kaius Niemi, is facing demands for a monetary penalty. Both Mukka and Niemi deny the charges against them.