Ex Perussuomalaiset MP granted asylum in Russia

A former lawmaker of Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party), the second largest component of the four-party alliance government on Monday said that he has been granted political asylum in Russia.

The lawmaker named Ano Turtiainen in a video posted on social media platform YouTube on Monday evening said that he moved to Russia last month and has been granted asylum there.

Terming the decision as historic, Turtiainen said that he was surprised as the invitation to the meeting with the migration agency in Moscow came too early.

The 58 years old lawmaker raised controversy in early December when he said in a video that he was ready to fight in the Russian Armed Forces, even against Finns.

Turtiainen was elected MP from Perussuomalaiset in 2019, representing Southeast Finland.

In June, 2020, the party expelled him from its parliamentary group for making racist posts on Twitter.

He had made a series of posts on Twitter that time insulting George Floyd, who died in late May, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, after a police officer had knelt on his neck while the African American was in police custody.

Earlier, before his election as a lawmaker, Turtiainen was fined for making a Facebook post appreciating an attempted arson attack on a refugee reception centre.