Cliff Notes
- The Helsinki District Court sentenced Russian Voislav Torden to life imprisonment for four war crimes, while dismissing one charge related to his alleged leadership role in the Risich group.
- The court found Torden guilty of participating in an armed attack in Luhansk and sharing derogatory images of fallen soldiers, but rejected charges pertaining to the ambush leading to the casualties of Ukrainian soldiers.
- This ruling marks Finland’s first prosecution for war crimes related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, following a Supreme Court decision acknowledging the case’s international significance.
The District Court sentenced Voislav Torden for war crimes
The Helsinki District Court has sentenced the Russian Voislav Torden for four war crimes to life imprisonment and ordered him to be further imprisoned. The District Court dismissed one charges.
The District Court considers that Tormen has been in a non-profit volunteer group or group during the offense of crime, which participated in the eastern Ukraine area in the Luhansk region of an armed attack on the Ukraine armed forces Aidar Battalion soldiers.
Also, he had taken and distributed derogatory pictures of a fallen soldier and announced on the Internet and on social media that Rusich did not give mercy.
The charge of leaving the ambush was rejected
The court dismissed the charges that Tormen would have contributed to the activities of Rusich soldiers as Ruschi’s Deputy Head, after 5 September 2014 organized and implemented the Ukrainian flag by abusing and fire.
The responsibility for arranging and implementing the ambush and fire in all respects. The Risich group had been present as part of these other troops. The fire was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces Aidar Battalion truck and passenger car, and wounded five soldiers and killed 21 soldiers. One of the wounded soldiers died later from the injury he had received.
However the prosecution was able to exclude the claims of the wounded four soldiers and 22 dead soldiers in the fire were rejected.
The end result struck us with like a bitter after taste
Heikki Lampela, a lawyer at Torden, says that Torden is confused by the judgment. It was an unambiguous display. He is very scandalous that what the hell is.
Lampela describes that they thought they were presented in court that things didn’t happen as the prosecutor said – everything seemed to go really well and really well. He was very pleased and I was really happy, but then the end result hit us with a lot.
Prosecutor satisfied with life sentence
Deputy Prosecutor Prosecutor Jukka Rappe is pleased with the District Court’s life sentence for the district court. Even if that one accusation would change, if it were to be complained, that punishment would not become strange.
Of course, the big thing is that those who commission war criminal liability can be obtained.
The first judgment of Ukraine war crimes in Finland
This is the first time Finland has been prosecuted and dealt with in court because of the war crimes of the Ukrainian war. Law and judgment was held in Finland because the Supreme Court decided that the Ukraine’s request could not have been agreed.
District Court because the charge concerned international crime, which is based on international agreements on war-binding war rules.