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Helsinki politician's hate speech conviction upheld

A Helsinki politician has been refused further leave to appeal his conviction for agitation against an ethnic group over a Facebook post in which he advocated forced sterilisation of African men.

Olli Sademies
File photo of former Helsinki Finns Party politician Olli Sademies. Image: Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva

Olli Sademies, a former Finns Party politician who was expelled from the party over hate speech on social media, has been denied leave to appeal against his conviction for agitation against an ethnic group.

In 2015 Sademies had posted on Facebook advocating the forced sterilisation of African men, suggested collective punishment for immigrants and described the group as beggars.

The appeals court had last year rejected his first appeal, and on Wednesday the Supreme Court denied Sademies leave to appeal to the country’s highest court.