Ano Turtiainen

Ano Veli Samuel Turtiainen (25 August 1967 in Sääminki) is a Finnish former powerlifter and a politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the South-Eastern Finland constituency. He lives in Juva. Turtiainen was elected to the parliament in the 2019 parliamentary election.[1]

Ano Turtiainen
Member of the Finnish Parliament for South-Eastern Finland
Assumed office
April 17, 2019
Parliamentary groupEduskuntaryhmä Ano Turtiainen (2020−)
Finns Party (2019−2020)
Personal details
Born
Ano Veli Samuel Turtiainen

(1967-08-25) 25 August 1967
Sääminki, Mikkeli Province, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Alma materWärtsilä Vocational School
OccupationEntrepreneur
[1]

Criminal record

In December 2015 Turtiainen published a Facebook status saying that "people had taken great personal risks when acting in elimination operations to destroy existing and planned asylum centres". In his Facebook status, Turtiainen considered the Finnish Red Cross to be his greatest enemy and wrote if "it was now time to expand operations to the enemy headquarters". The matter escalated into a controversy after Member of Parliament Laura Huhtasaari had liked the status. The Finnish Red Cross reported Turtiainen's message to the police. In September 2018 Turtiainen was sentenced in the district court of Southern Savonia to 60 day-fines for public incitement to crime.[2][3] After being elected as a Member of Parliament, Turtiainen commented that "in this company a criminal sentence is just a feather in my cap".[4]

Turtiainen has also been sentenced for assault. According to Helsingin Sanomat, the district court of Southern Savonia sentenced Turtiainen to fines in March 2010 for assaulting a 14-year-old boy from Juva. Turtiainen had been previously sentenced for assault in 1997 and 1995.[5]

Controversy

On 3 June 2020 Turtiainen mocked George Floyd on his Twitter account with a tweet showing an image of Floyd, a police officer's knee on his neck and his face colorized pink, with the phrase "Pink Floyd".[6] His parliamentary group called the tweet "not acceptable".[6] The tweet was later deleted.[6] As a response to Turtiainen's tweet, the Finns Party expelled him from the parliamentary group.[7] Citing zero tolerance for racism, US-based company Elitefts announced that it is ending its business relationship with Ano Turtiainen's company, Metal Sport & Gear.[7]

Sports career

Turtiainen competed for the International Powerlifting Federation, World Powerlifting Congress and World Powerlifting Organization. In 2002, he set a deadlift world record 405.5 kg for WPC.[8] In 1998, Turtiainen was tested positive for androgenic drugs and banned for two years.[9]

References
  1. "Ano Turtiainen profile". Parliament of Finland. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. Teittinen, Paavo (28 December 2015). "Kansanedustaja Huhtasaari sanoo tykänneensä väkivaltaan yllyttävästä Facebook-päivityksestä vahingossa – "En missään nimessä hyväksy"" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  3. "Finns Party pol fined for inciting violence against Red Cross". Yle News. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. "Valituksensa hovioikeuteen perunut kansanedustaja Ano Turtiainen ei kadu tuomittua tekstiään — "Tässä porukassa tämä tuomio on vain sulka hattuun"" (in Finnish). Länsi-Savo. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. Pietiläinen, Tuomo (19 May 2019). "Kaksi kansanedustajien lausahdusta kiteyttää sen, miksi median pitää tarkasti kaivaa poliitikkojen tekemisiä" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  6. Foreigner.fi. "Perussuomalaiset MP mocks George Floyd's death". Foreigner.fi. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  7. Hartikainen, Jarno: Perussuomalaisten eduskuntaryhmä erotti Ano Turtiaisen sopimattoman somekäytöksen vuoksi, Helsingin Sanomat 4 June 2020. Accessed on 4 June 2020.
  8. Valta, Ville-Veikko (15 April 2019). "405,5 kiloa maasta vetänyt voimanoston ME-mies nousee eduskuntaan Kaakkois-Suomesta – saanut tuomion rikokseen yllyttämisestä" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  9. "Kolmelle voimanostajalle kahden vuoden kilpailukielto" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 12 June 1998. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.