Far-right Finnish politician Jari Nalli has allegedly suggested shooting the illegal border crossers in a Facebook post on his private account, which he soon deleted.
The suggestion has been faced with criticism by many, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In another Facebook post, he further stated that his opinion about the matter was personal.
The post didn’t mention anything about refugees or other civilians being shot. It didn’t specify which country’s border this should be done at. I still have a personal opinion, but I won’t share it not to disturb anyone’s sleep.
Nalli is a local political influencer. He is a substitute member of the Lappeenranta City Council for the Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) council group. In the 2017 municipal elections, Nalli lost his seat in the council. However, he still has an impact on the party at the local level, as reported by the Etelä-Saimaa, a Finnish media.
This media contacted Sami Behm, the chairman of the Finns Party in Lappeenranta, to comment on Nalli’s writings.
The writing seems a bit rude now. It appears to be the man’s own thoughts.
Finland has recently taken some measures following several cases related to irregular immigration. Last week, 11 individuals of Iranian origin were arrested by the Southeastern Finland Border Guard for crossing the border irregularly.
In November last month, 34 individuals without the necessary papers arrived at Finland’s Vartius border crossing point.
Finland is accusing Russia of the recent influx of migrants, claiming that Russian authorities are helping the transportation of individuals to Finnish territory.
Regarding this, Finland decided to keep its border with Russia closed until February 11, with the possibility of the measure being prolonged again. Such a decision was first made on December 14, 2023, and it has been continuously extended since then.
As long as this measure is in effect, Finnish authorities have declared they will not accept applications for international protection at its eastern border. Individuals can submit such applications only at border crossing points where entry and exit are allowed.
As reported recently, Finland is considering constructing additional temporary barriers at its border with Russia in an effort to prevent irregular migration.
Furthermore, last week, Finnish authorities revealed they are investigating several cases of organised illegal migration at the eastern border. They suspect criminal groups operate from the Middle East, Russia, Europe, and Finland.