A Ministry for Foreign Affairs employee's freedom of speech was restricted during last summer's racism crisis involving the Finnish government, concluded Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti in documents obtained by Yle.
The employee criticised the Prime Minister's Office after being asked to remove posts from the government's employee intranet. The posts included images from then-Minister for Economic Affairs Vilhelm Junnila's (Finns) public Facebook account, depicting a snowman resembling a Ku Klux Klan figure, a swastika and a comment about "gassing". The employee had added satirical commentary to these images.
Following the publication, a news editor from the government's internal communications unit called the employee, requesting the images be removed. The employee refused, citing freedom of speech and the duty of public officials to defend equality.
After this refusal, the employee reported that the editor's tone became more pressing, though the investigation stated the editor did not demand the posts' removal.
The employee inquired about potential consequences if the images were not taken down. The editor reportedly responded that consequences "might" follow, which the employee perceived as a threat, leading to the images being removed after the call.
Pöysti's assessment criticised the restriction of free speech based solely on political sensitivity, stating it does not meet the conditions required for such a limitation.
He emphasised that the employee's posts, which related to "political discussion and a matter of public interest," were entitled to heightened protection under freedom of speech.
