Police action on Helsinki demonstrators under review

Interior minister Maria Ohisalo said the police action on climate demonstrators on Saturday afternoon in Kaisaniemi of Helsinki will be reviewed.

The law enforcers reportedly used force, including use of pepper spray, to disperse the green activists who staged a protest blocking a street.

The demonstrators demanding action on climate change gathered at the intersection of Kaisaniemenkatu and Unionkatu when the police launched the action on them and arrested 51 people, police and eye accounts said.

“Was the police use of force during the Extinction Rebellion [Elokapina] today proportionate? We have received an initial report on the matter and it is being reviewed. The use of force must always be a last resort and there must be compelling reasons for it,” wrote Ohisalo in a Twitter post on Saturday evening.

In the blowup Twitter post she said that these actions must be evaluated and guidelines must be updated, if needed.

“It is also always good to explain the reasons for the use of force. Ultimately, police actions are supervised by the Parliamentary Ombudsman,” added the minister.

The organizers of the demonstration said several hundred people joined the demonstration and police picked up 51 of them.

“With relatively little warming, police used something like pepper spray on people at close range,” Extinction Rebellion Emergency Brake demonstration spokesperson Lauri Autere told the national broadcaster Yle.

According to Autere, the spray caused symptoms similar to a powerful allergic reaction among people who were targeted in the face.

Meanwhile, the police in a press release on Sunday afternoon said the law enforcers arrested 51 people at the spot and all of them were released on Saturday night.

The Helsinki police also said that they will probe into the incident.

“In accordance with the normal supervisory process, the Helsinki Police Department will review exactly what has happened, how the police have acted,” said Helsinki Police Criminal Inspector Jonna Turunen, adding that they will think about the procedures in future.