Pekka Kataja, a long-standing official with the Finns Party's Central Finland branch, has been expelled from the party.
"An hour ago, I received a message from the party saying that I have been expelled. The message did not specify the reason. It simply states that you will be dismissed on the basis of section seven," Kataja told Yle on Monday morning.
The email — published below and signed by party secretary Harri Vuorenpää — explained that Kataja was being dismissed because of a violation of the party's rules. His expulsion takes immediate effect, the email states.
There are a total of eight possible infringements of the party's section seven rules — including failure to pay membership fees as well as activities which harm the party's image — but the email does not specify which regulation Kataja is deemed to have broken.
"I will take this matter to court. You cannot arbitrarily dismiss an official in a state governed by the rule of law," Kataja told Yle.
Kataja has been an active member of the Finns Party and its predecessor, the Finnish Rural Party, for over 40 years.
He rose to national prominence when he was the victim of what police believe was a murder attempt in the summer of 2020. Two men, pretending to deliver a package to Kataja from Finns Party headquarters, attacked him at his home in Jämsänkoski, Central Finland.
Kataja was hit on the head about 20 times during the attack, possibly with a hammer, which led to his skull caving in.
Police suspected there was a political motive behind the attack, with the prosecutor's office noting that such a case had not been seen in Finland since the 1930s.
A lengthy legal process eventually concluded in August this year, when the Supreme Court dismissed all charges against the one remaining suspect on trial.
The acquittal means that no suspect has been convicted of any crime in relation to the attack on Kataja.
Decision related to Kataja's social media comments
According to Yle's information, Finns Party secretary Harri Vuorenpää sent Kataja a 'request for clarification' in September over a comment Kataja wrote on social media.
The party sought to clarify if Kataja had suggested in the comment that a party member had acted dishonestly when choosing the candidates for this summer's European elections. Yle understands this relates to the party's decision not to retain Teuvo Hakkarainen as a candidate.
Kataja told Yle however that his comments were not public, but instead were sent in a private Facebook message to Vuorenpää and party leader Riikka Purra.
"I said that the choice was made unethically. I didn't use the word dishonestly," Kataja explained.
In addition, Yle understands that the party's request for clarification also referred to a comment Kataja wrote under a social media post by Sebastian Tynkkynen, a former MP who was elected to the European Parliament in June.
In the update, posted shortly after Tynkkynen was elected to the European Parliament, he is wearing a suit instead of the trademark red-and-black flannel shirt he usually wears.
"I wrote that the outfit doesn't suit you [Tynkkynen], but a skirt would be better, because you [Tynkkynen] have disrespected the parliament for six years by appearing in plenary sessions wearing a lumberjack shirt," Kataja told Yle, adding that he does not regret what he wrote.
He also declined to comment on whether he was referring to Tynkkynen's sexual orientation, as Tynkkynen is an openly gay man.