Turku attack hero jailed for fraud, forgery

A person known as the Turku attack hero was sentenced to 22-month conditional imprisonment for aggravated fraud, aggravated forgery, and illegal fundraising, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

The Southwestern Finland’s District Court on Tuesday awarded the punishment to Hassan Zubier as the allegations brought against him were proved beyond doubt.

The court also ordered Zubier to pay the state about 13,500 euros of funds raised to help him overcome his injuries.

Zubier was injured critically when he tried to save the life of one of the victims of Turku Market Square attack on 18 August, 2017.

A terrorist named Abderrahman Bouanane killed two people and injured eight others in the attack.

A woman who had set up the fundraising campaign was also found guilty of participating in the fundraising crimes and sentenced to a 25-day fine, amounting to 800 euros.

According to the verdict, Zubier, a British national who resides in Sweden, had lied about his income during the perpetrator’s terrorism trial, when he gave the court a forged employment document that stated he had lost income from a Swedish ambulance company as a result of the attack, said the Yle report.

Zubier admitted the incident of document forgery in his benefits application to the state but denied the fundraising accusations.