Racism in Finland

[8] The legal provisions of Finland's Aliens' Act are discriminatory and subject ethnic minorities to racial profiling by the police.

[9] According to a report from Iltalehti, an alleged incident of racism and police brutality occurred on the evening of 4 July 2020 at the Central Railway Station of Helsinki Metro.

According to eyewitness accounts and unverified footage of the incident that was circulating on social media, the white youth was calmly spoken to by the police before being allowed to leave, however, the black teenager was allegedly thrown down onto the floor by security staff and placed in handcuffs.

One security staff member was allegedly seen pressing his knee down on the teenager's neck, at which point the victim could be seen yelling out "I can't breathe" in English, which has clearly evoked images on social media in the case of George Floyd in the United States.

[11] According to Solala, this situation had nothing to do with racism, race or gender because security staff will use similar force on anyone who is resisting and uncooperative, ethnic Finns included.

[15] Soon after, Purra's newer writings from 2019 started to circulate in social media, in which she referred to women in burqa as "unrecognizable black sacks" in context of criticizing the clothing practice as dehumanizing.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called an excerpt from the writings unacceptable, but considered that Purra's earlier apology was enough.

[25] The director of Folkhälsan, Viveca Hagmark, and the CEO, Anna Hellerstedt, both released statements condemning racism and thanking those who voiced support for Owusu.