Finland jails alleged Russian paramilitary over alleged travel ban violation

LONDON

A court in Finland jailed Russian far-right paramilitary Yan Petrovsky over border offences, local media has reported.

The district court in the southern Kymmenlaakso region convicted Petrovsky, an alleged member of Rusich, a neo-Nazi unit of the Wagner group, of violating an entry ban to the country, handing him a suspended prison sentence of 40 days, broadcaster Yle reported Tuesday.

He is also ordered to pay a fine of €80 (about $86).

Petrovsky was initially detained in July at Helsinki Airport on separate terrorism charges following a request from Ukraine. He was caught trying to leave on a flight to France using a fake passport.

Kyiv claims he belonged to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine as a member of Rusich in 2014-2015.

He was on an EU sanctions list and banned from entering Finland, but applied for asylum in Finland under the alias of Voislav Torden.

Petrovsky was banned from entering Finland, but is believed to have crossed into the country in 2022 and 2023, under false identification documents presenting him as Voislav Torden, according to Yle.

Petrovsky is believed to have committed war crimes in 2014-2015 during fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, according to Germany's dpa news agency.

However, Finland's Supreme Court in December refused to extradite Petrovsky to Ukraine and ruled for his release, citing the risk of inhumane prison conditions in Ukraine, according to Yle.