Finland: Two journalists shot dead

Photo credit: Hannu Rissanen / Lehtikuva / AFP

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) called on the authorities in Finland to conduct a swift investigation on the killings of two journalists and a local politician, who were shot dead by a rifle outside a restaurant in the small Finnish town of Imatra at around midnight on 3 December. 

The chairwoman of Imatra Town Council and two local reporters were gunned down in a pedestrian area outside a restaurant in the town just before a police patrol car arrived to the scene at around midnight Saturday. A 23-year-old local man with a criminal record was detained at the scene, but the motive for the killings remain unclear, said the Southeastern Finland police department.

“The persons were exiting the restaurant when they were fired upon,” YLE reporter Jari Tanskanen said on the media’s web site. The three victims were shot multiple times in the head and torso with a rifle.

One of the victims, Tiina Wilén-Jäppinen, was the chairwoman of Imatra city council while the other two women were local journalists.

The IFJ and EFJ express their condolences to the families of the victims and call for immediate investigation into the murders. 


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