The chair of the Finnish chapter of press freedom watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF), Ilkka Nousiainen, has resigned due to a difference of opinion with the chapter's board.
Nousiainen had criticised Helsingin Sanomat for its actions in publishing parts of highly classified documents relating to an intelligence facility in Central Finland. He was interviewed by Yle after HS journalist Laura Halminen's home was searched by police on Sunday and phones and a computer were removed.
On Wednesday Nousiainen submitted his resignation, and on Thursday evening he said that he stood behind his previous comments.
"It's natural that I resigned because my views are not aligned with the board's," said Nousiainen. "The board feels that our job is to defend journalism, as it is. Even so, I am still of the opinion that Helsingin Sanomat went too far and that this kind of journalism can't be defended."
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RSF says that it supports the HS journalists who wrote the story, Halminen and Tuomo Pietiläinen. According to RSF Nousiainen had commented before the full picture was known. Later on it became clear that no big harm was caused by the article.
Nousiainen himself says that he takes a broader perspective.
"I am a political scientist, I studied political history and international law at university," said Nousiainen. "Maybe I see this more from that perspective than from a journalist's. This is an unnecessary story. It was unnecessary to disseminate confidential information in this way. I don't like that."
RSF re-states support
"The centrepiece of Halminen and Pietiläinen's story was information relevant to the new intelligence law, and the intelligence law could affect every Finn's basic rights" said the organisation in a statement. "RSF's Finland chapter believes that Halminen and Pietiläinen operated according to the journalist's code of ethics."
The organisation said that freedom of speech is a cornerstone of society in a democracy, and using it responsibly is part of a journalist's job.
RSF said it is concerned about the exceptional reaction from authorities. According to the organisation, police confiscating reporters' equipment endangers source protection even when precautions are taken. Police had said that they had taken along a legal representative responsible for ensuring source protection.
EDIT The headline has been edited to replace the word 'raid' with 'search'.