Finnish MP seeks Supreme Court review in Bar Ikku shooting case

Finnish Member of Parliament Timo Vornanen has taken his case to the Supreme Court, seeking a leave to appeal a district court's conviction for a shooting incident outside Bar Ikku. The district court had sentenced Vornanen to eight months of conditional imprisonment in December.

The Helsinki Court of Appeals refused to grant a further hearing, meaning the district court's decision was expected to become final. However, Vornanen has now filed an appeal against the appeals court's decision with the Supreme Court.

Vornanen fired his personal weapon into the street and pointed it at two men outside Bar Ikku in Helsinki in spring 2024. The district court found Vornanen guilty of assault, two counts of illegal threats, reckless handling of a firearm, and a firearms offense.

If Vornanen's prison sentence had been any longer than eight months, he would not have needed further review permission to have his appeal heard by the appeals court. The refusal to grant this permission almost always means the district court's verdict becomes legally binding.

Vornanen explained to Iltalehti that his appeal concerns the broader conditions under which an appeals court can deny a further hearing. He stated that "specific and justified doubts have been raised" regarding the district court's ruling. Vornanen has requested the charges be dismissed, though he admits to a minor firearms offense. Following the shooting incident, Vornanen was expelled from the parliamentary group of the Finns Party and from the party itself.

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specific and justified doubts have been raised