YLE radio news reports that Nytte Ekman, director of Finnish humanitarian organisation Nada Hope, has admitted to smuggling people into the country. She said her organisation tries to prevent them from being returned to dangerous situations.
"Many times I’ve had to smuggle them into Finland," Ekman said. "These are people who are completely helpless, that have maybe been swindled by a smuggler who has taken all their money, and they are penniless, poor, and hungry, just waiting for some kind of help."
Many illegal immigrants are from former Soviet states, according to Ekman. Still others come from Syria, Iran, and other places in the Middle East. According to police data, more than a thousand asylum applicants disappeared from Finnish refugee reception centres last year. Lutheran Church Also Aiding Refugees?
YLE Radio also reports that local Evangelical Lutheran parishes are rumoured to have a hand in hiding illegal immigrants.
Parishes may have received internal guidelines stressing the church's tradition of offering refuge.