Finnish court rules that suspect in Russian war crimes will stay detained

IZMIR, Türkiye

The Helsinki District Court ordered Yan Petrovsky, a former Russian mercenary suspected of terror crimes in Eastern Ukraine, held in custody, according to Yle Finnish broadcasting.

The district court said Monday that Petrovsky would continue to be imprisoned in Finland on suspicion with probable cause of an aggravated war crime.

The deputy state prosecutor decided Friday to launch a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes by Voislav Torden, one of three aliases used by Petrovsky.

Ukraine requested Petrovsky’s extradition but the Finnish Supreme Court denied that request and said the suspect might be exposed to inhumane conditions in a Ukrainian prison

There is a real danger that Petrovsky will be placed in a prison in Ukraine where conditions do not meet the humane treatment requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the Finnish Supreme Court.

The European Court of Human Rights also ruled in several cases that prison conditions in Ukraine violate the human rights convention due to overcrowding and various deficiencies.

Prison conditions in Ukraine have further deteriorated during the war with Russia, according to reports on the human rights situation in Ukraine.

There have also been reports of torture and violence against inmates suspected of collaborating with Russia.

Finnish prosecutors have until May 31 to charge Petrovsky.

Petrovsky founded the neo-Nazi Rusich militant group, which has been accused of atrocities in Ukraine.

He was on an EU sanctions list and banned from entering Finland. But he applied for asylum in Finland under the alias of Voislav Torden

The former commander of Rusich was arrested at the Helsinki Airport in July on suspicion of terror activities. He was caught trying to leave using a fake passport.

• Finland
• Russia