Helsingin Sanomat has been to visit Lauri Love, the Finnish-British hacker who faces extradition to the United States and potentially 12 years in prison after the FBI put out an arrest warrant under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Love has a history of mental health issues and hacked into some US government systems, including the Federal Reserve, Nasa and the FBI, during a spell of depression in which he rarely left his bedroom. He says he did this as a political protest.
HS is interested because of Love's Finnish background. His mother is from Finland and he himself has undertaken civilian service in Tampere, speaks some Finnish and has fond memories of summers in Finland as a child. He also attributes his interest in hacking to 'Finnish genes', saying that an uncle who worked at Nokia always had a new gadget for him to play with when he visited.
He's now working with a Manchester startup that tries to hack government systems and explain security flaws, but that could all come to an end if he is extradited. He says he's now appealing to the Finnish Justice Minister (that's Jari Lindström, a Finns Party MP who supports the death penalty in some cases) for help in resisting the American request. Otherwise, he says, he'll find another way to avoid standing trial.
"It's pretty clear that over there my life would be over," Love told HS. "I'd get better justice dead."
TV presenter's bedroom camera
Both tabloids' front pages carry the face of Axl Smith, a former MTV presenter who is accused of secretly filming himself having sex with 'dozens' of women in his bedroom. He has released a statement on YouTube in which he says that the tapes were part of the security system at his home, but that doesn't quite tally with other accounts.
Ilta-Sanomat has interviewed one of the women, who says Smith told her the camera was hooked up to his fitness tracker. It was tucked away between books on his nightstand, according to the woman, who says she's now 'very hurt' by the revelations. She had spent several hours at the police station watching videos in which she featured, which were saved under her name on Smith's computer.
Both Iltalehti and Ilta-Sanomat interview legal experts who say that Smith could well be looking at jail time if convicted.
Olli on a roll
Finland's hopes of a medal at the Rio Olympics are few and far between, but this week saw one bright spot in the Olympic picture. Petra Olli, a 21-year-old wrestler from southern Ostrobothnia. Last year she took the silver medal in the 58kg freestyle at the world championships, and won the hearts of the nation when she picked up her medal sporting a black eye and several bruises.
This week she upset the odds to beat Oksana Herhel in the 60kg event at the European championships in Riga, taking the gold medal and overnight turning millions of Finns into wrestling fans.
Iltalehti went to meet her at the airport on her return, and has a double page spread on her achievements, backstory and goals. highlights include that she's looking forward to the Olympics, her taxi driver in Riga wanted an autograph and that she's improved a lot in the last year, especially physically.
Her medal-biting picture was also quite a contrast to last year--this time she only had a few scratches on her forehead.