Finnish Journalists Take Signals Intelligence Case to European Court of Human Rights
Two journalists from Helsingin Sanomat have brought their case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) after Finnish courts convicted them of disclosing and attempting to disclose security secrets related to the country’s military intelligence operations. The appeal, filed in April, challenges a ruling by the Helsinki Court of Appeal that upheld their convictions and increased their sentences.
The case stems from a 2017 article published by Helsingin Sanomat about the Finnish Defence Forces’ Signals Test Center, as well as unpublished drafts of follow-up stories. The Helsinki Court of Appeal ruled that the published article and the planned reports contained information classified as a security secret, posing a risk to Finland’s external security. Attorney Kai Kotiranta, representing Sanoma Media Finland Oy and one of the journalists, confirmed the appeal to the ECtHR but noted that it remains uncertain whether the court will take the case (Helsingin Sanomat).
The journalists, Tuomo Pietiläinen and Laura Halminen, were initially convicted by the District Court in 2022 for disclosing a security secret. However, the Court of Appeal expanded the charges in July 2023, finding them guilty of both disclosing and attempting to disclose a security secret—specifically in relation to the unpublished draft articles. Pietiläinen received a four-month suspended prison sentence, while Halminen was ordered to pay 80 day-fines (Yle).
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in December 2023, making the Court of Appeal’s ruling final. Helsingin Sanomat subsequently announced its decision to escalate the case to the ECtHR, with editor-in-chief Erja Yläjärvi emphasizing the broader implications for press freedom. She described the convictions over unpublished material as "highly exceptional even by European standards" and stressed that the case affects not only the newspaper but the entire media sector (Helsingin Sanomat).
Kotiranta explained that the ECtHR’s next step will determine whether the case proceeds. The court may request a response from the Finnish state and a rebuttal from the journalists, or it may decline to review the matter entirely (Helsingin Sanomat). The outcome could set a precedent for how national security concerns intersect with journalistic freedoms in Finland and beyond.