kontulib
January 24th, 2003, 03:23 AM
Finnish Police investigate possible arms exports to Iraq
Iraqi-born Finnish citizen held
Finland's National Bureau of Investigation - the country's central criminal police - have arrested a man suspected of illegal arms sales to Iraq.
An Iraqi-born Finnish citizen was remanded in custody on Friday. The suspect, an architect by profession, was charged with aggravated violation of trade restrictions.
In a brief statement issued on Tuesday, the NBI did not mention the country that the suspect was believed to have sold weapons to, but Helsingin Sanomat has learned that it was Iraq.
According to the statement, the charges involve "possible illegal trade or preparation of such trade with a country under trade restrictions, also involving equipment intended for military purposes."
The wording suggests that no actual exchange of goods may have taken place yet.
"In the investigation we will ascertain if illegal trade was involved, or if it was only an attempt. This is based on export restriction regulations which have been imposed on certain countries", says Björn Weckström, head of the main section of the NBI.
The investigation is far from finished. In addition to the NBI, the Finnish Security Police (SUPO) has been involved, and foreign security services have shown interest in the case.
The NBI is focusing on what the goods in question actually were, and where they came from.
The investigators are now looking into the role of the suspect in the alleged dealings. They also want to know where in Finland the activities have taken place, how much money has been involved, and how long the activity has been going on. The suspect has been under interrogation in the past few days.
The fact that the charges are for aggravated violation of trade restrictions suggests that the suspected activities were either meticulously planned, involved large sums of money, or that the arms involved were very dangerous.
Last autumn the suspect was interviewed on a Swedish language current affairs programme on Finnish television, where the topic was the impact of the 9/11 attacks on an open society.
He has been active as a spokesman on behalf of Iraq, and works as a researcher at the Helsinki University of Technology. He was an expert in the city structures of the Islamic Middle East, and the impact of Islam on Middle Eastern urban culture.
One of his colleagues described him as diligent and trustworthy, and was surprised to hear about his arrest.
The charges carry a sentence of up to four years in prison.
In addition to Iraq, the United Nations bans arms sales to a number of countries, including Bosnia, Libya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan.
Last week the NBI said that it was continuing the investigation that began based on documents that were found in the South African home of Finnish businessman Peter Fryckman, who was recently extradited from that country to begin a prison sentence in Finland for financial crimes.
Officials refused to comment on whether or not there was any connection between the two cases.
A South African newspaper reported that the documents involved the sale of weapons to Iraq, but South African police denied the report.
Iraqi-born Finnish citizen held
Finland's National Bureau of Investigation - the country's central criminal police - have arrested a man suspected of illegal arms sales to Iraq.
An Iraqi-born Finnish citizen was remanded in custody on Friday. The suspect, an architect by profession, was charged with aggravated violation of trade restrictions.
In a brief statement issued on Tuesday, the NBI did not mention the country that the suspect was believed to have sold weapons to, but Helsingin Sanomat has learned that it was Iraq.
According to the statement, the charges involve "possible illegal trade or preparation of such trade with a country under trade restrictions, also involving equipment intended for military purposes."
The wording suggests that no actual exchange of goods may have taken place yet.
"In the investigation we will ascertain if illegal trade was involved, or if it was only an attempt. This is based on export restriction regulations which have been imposed on certain countries", says Björn Weckström, head of the main section of the NBI.
The investigation is far from finished. In addition to the NBI, the Finnish Security Police (SUPO) has been involved, and foreign security services have shown interest in the case.
The NBI is focusing on what the goods in question actually were, and where they came from.
The investigators are now looking into the role of the suspect in the alleged dealings. They also want to know where in Finland the activities have taken place, how much money has been involved, and how long the activity has been going on. The suspect has been under interrogation in the past few days.
The fact that the charges are for aggravated violation of trade restrictions suggests that the suspected activities were either meticulously planned, involved large sums of money, or that the arms involved were very dangerous.
Last autumn the suspect was interviewed on a Swedish language current affairs programme on Finnish television, where the topic was the impact of the 9/11 attacks on an open society.
He has been active as a spokesman on behalf of Iraq, and works as a researcher at the Helsinki University of Technology. He was an expert in the city structures of the Islamic Middle East, and the impact of Islam on Middle Eastern urban culture.
One of his colleagues described him as diligent and trustworthy, and was surprised to hear about his arrest.
The charges carry a sentence of up to four years in prison.
In addition to Iraq, the United Nations bans arms sales to a number of countries, including Bosnia, Libya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan.
Last week the NBI said that it was continuing the investigation that began based on documents that were found in the South African home of Finnish businessman Peter Fryckman, who was recently extradited from that country to begin a prison sentence in Finland for financial crimes.
Officials refused to comment on whether or not there was any connection between the two cases.
A South African newspaper reported that the documents involved the sale of weapons to Iraq, but South African police denied the report.