SC legalizes seizure of journalist´s home by police in 2017

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the confiscation of materials by the police at the home of a journalist working with a leading Finnish language newspaper Helsingin Sanomat in December 2017.

The journalist was one of the writers of a feature story about a military intelligence installation near Jyväskylä, published in December 2017.

The court has not yet decided whether the police can actually use the information stored in a memory stick confiscated in the apartment.

The journalist has claimed that the information in the stick enjoys protection as a journalistic source. The police had entered her home following a fire alarm caused by her attempt to destroy a hard disk in the basement.

The main investigation into an alleged breach of security continues, and local media has named earlier this year a high level officer as a possible suspect.

The defense forces called for a police investigation in December 2017. The police investigates the case both as "publication of a security detail" and as "a breach of official secrecy".

The confiscated memory stick remains sealed. The Supreme Court is to arrange an oral hearing about the stick issue next week, but a verdict is to come later.