Appeal court dismissed charges against retired crime commissioner who identified Finnish victims in Thailand
The Helsinki Court of Appeal has dismissed charges of breaching official secrecy against retired crime commissioner Ismo Kopra. Kopra led a Finnish victim identification operation following the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.
Appeal court acquitted crime commissioner who led tsunami operation of charges
The Helsinki Court of Appeal has dismissed charges of breaching official secrecy brought against retired crime commissioner Ismo Kopra, 74, according to Ilta-Sanomat. The decision follows the earlier position taken by the East Uusimaa District Court.
Kopra led the central criminal police victim identification unit's operation in Thailand following the December 2004 tsunami. He spent a total of 13 months in Khao Lak. A total of 179 Finnish citizens were killed in the Southeast Asian tsunami.
The prosecutor had sought to impose day fines on Kopra for the alleged disclosure of confidential information. According to the charge, the information had been made public in a documentary series Tsunami – Return to Paradise broadcast on channel Nelonen last year.
The series briefly shows documents containing identification information about Finnish victims – including names and information on whether identification was based on dental records or DNA. Kopra and two relatives of the victims examine the papers in the documentary.
The court found that the document in question was not classified and that its presentation to relatives caused no harm. According to the court, Kopra also did not act improperly in retaining the document after his retirement.
Kopra himself emphasised in court that the document was presented to two relatives of tsunami victims as background information. Its purpose was to clarify how victim identification worked in practice. According to Kopra, it was not an official classified government document but a work memorandum concerning events from more than twenty years earlier.
Kopra also stated that he had agreed with the documentary makers that the information in the documents would be blurred. The papers in the series are indeed mostly obscured, but some information was nevertheless briefly visible.
The identification work was facilitated by comprehensive health records held on Finnish citizens. Approximately 70 per cent of the victims were identified based on dental records; fingerprints and DNA were also used.
Kopra has stated that the legal proceedings weighed on him for a long time. He has publicly pondered whether the entire process and the resulting publicity represented a kind of "reward" for the work he carried out in Thailand.
The Helsinki Court of Appeal's decision is not final. The case may be appealed to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal.
Source: Ilta-Sanomat