A police investigation has been launched after a councillor for the far-right Finns Party said a man who shot and killed a Moroccan-born restaurant worker in Oulu should be given a medal.
Tommi Rautio, a board member for the party’s Satakunta district and a Köyliö councillor, made the distasteful suggestion on his Facebook page, adding that “there is already a war going on and in every war decorations are handed out”.
Satakunta Police are now investigating a crime of incitement against an ethnic group, while Finns Party chairman Timo Soini said Rautio is likely to be dismissed from the party. ”No one has told people to applaud killings. This is utterly shocking and inhuman,” Soini said, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Rautio will be given a chance to explain himself before a decision about his future with the party is made at a board meeting tomorrow.
A 21 year-old restaurant employee was killed and another man injured at the pizzeria in Oulu on Saturday 18th February, before the 24 year-old shooter turned the gun on himself. Police have found no evidence of a racist motive for the attack.