Helsinki District court has convicted a man of discrimination after he refused ethnic minority men entry to the nightclub. The man will have to pay 50 income-linked day fines, which amount to around 300 euros in his case, and around 1,600 euros in compensation to the victims.
The Yle Silminnäkijä (Eyewitness) team tested employers, landlords and restaurants and bars for discrimination by sending men of Russian and Somali background to test their reactions. Hidden cameras filmed the results.
The group had lived in Finland for a long time and spoke good Finnish. The nightclub bouncer had refused entry even though they showed him ID which is widely accepted in Finland.
In another case tried at the same time, a Romanian citizen was denied entry to the same establishment even though he had a Finnish driving licence.
The bouncer claimed he was acting in accordance with general guidelines around security work in the nightclub business, however the regulator Valvira has stated that driving licenses can be accepted as proof of age.