War-responsibility trials in Finland
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The war-responsibility trials in Finland were a series of trials where the Finnish wartime leaders held responsible for the starting or continuation of the war of aggression against the Soviet Union during the Continuation War were prosecuted.
The Moscow Armistice Treaty contained the following article:
| 13 Article: Finland shall co-operate with Allied Powers to arrest and pass judgement those accused of war crimes. |
In Finland it was first considered to concern traditional war criminals, but as the Moscow Declaration October 30, 1943 had made clear the Allied powers intended to prosecute for other atrocities as well as traditional war crimes. This development lead to Treaty of London (London Charter) August 8, 1945, which defined three types of crimes, War Crimes, Crimes against peace and Crimes against humanity.
The Allied Control Commission and Communist Party raised the issue repeatedly during the spring and summer of 1945, and at September 11 Parliament accepted the law enabling prosecution of those responsible for war. Supreme Court of Finland and leading judicial experts protested the law as conflicting with constitution of Finland and contrary to western judicial principles, but they didn't comment on political necessity of such law. Also the Finnish public regarded this as a mockery of rule of law. Juho Kusti Paasikivi, who was the prime minister of Finland at the time has been recorded to have stated, that the conditions of the armistice concerning this matter neglected all laws.
However, unlike other nations that were declared guilty, Finland was given the liberty to conduct the trials within Finland under Finnish (retroactive) law with a Finnish jury and judges. The Allied Control Commission that had tight grip over Finland set up an observing committee to observe these trials and interfered on numerous occasions before the end of the trials in February of 1946.
It is often rumoured that Joseph Stalin personally prevented the Finnish marshal and president Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim from having been charged in these trials.
Sources: Ajasta Aikaan - Suomen historian käännekohtia (trans. Turning points in Finland's history) Anja Rosendahl & Olavi Saija, WSOY 1995
Full list of the indicted and their convictions
- Risto Ryti, president, 10 years hard labor
- Johan Wilhelm Rangell, prime minister, 6 years prison
- Edwin Linkomies, prime minister, 5.5 years
- Väinö Tanner, minister, 5.5 years
- Henrik Ramsay, minister, 2.5 years
- Antti Kukkonen, minister, 2 years
- Tyko Reinikka, minister, 2 years
- Toivo Mikael Kivimäki, ambassador, 5 years
Aftermath
After the Paris Peace treaty was ratified in Soviet Union August 29, 1947, the Allied Control Commission left the country at September 26, 1947. At October President Paasikivi moved Kukkonen and Reinikka to probation and at December also Ramsay, when they have suffered 5/6 of their term. The rest were moved to the probation according to Finnish criminal law when they have suffered half of their term. At May 19, 1949 Paasikivi pardoned hospitalized Ryti and Rangell, Tanner, Linkomies and Kivimäki who were still in probation.See also
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