Source: HelsinkiTimes.fi
THE DISTRICT COURT of Helsinki on Friday found two journalists guilty of disclosing national secrets over a story about the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency (VKoeL) in Helsingin Sanomat on 16 December 2017, reports YLE.
The court determined that the article disclosed a number of military intelligence-related details that had been classified on grounds of national security.
Tuomo Pietiläinen, the journalist who was mainly responsible for the story, was issued a 50-day fine. Laura Halminen, the other journalist named in the byline, was not sentenced on grounds of her lesser role in the story.
“The other journalist had a clearly lesser role than her colleague, and she had sought to make sure it was lawful to publish. The district court refrained from sentencing her for these reasons,” the ruling reads according to the Finnish public broadcasting company.
The court also cited the prolonged trial proceedings as grounds for its sentencing decision….