Kohti Vapautta!
Kohti Vapautta! (transl. Towards Freedom![2]) is a Finnish neo-Nazi organization.[3] It was founded in 2019, and was named after traditional Independence Day rallies.[4] According to the Finnish government, the group is the Finnish branch of the Nordic Resistance Movement, which has been banned by the Pirkanmaa District Court.[5][6][7] Formation and structureIn 2016, the Nordic Resistance Movement organized a neo-Nazi march in the Finnish capital Helsinki.[8] Before the next independence day, the Nordic Resistance Movement's Finnish branch was banned by the Pirkanmaa District Court. Organizers of an event described the 2017 march as being organized by independent National Socialists that all National Socialist movements were invited to.[9] In 2018, the Finnish Police intercepted the march and arrested leader of the banned Finnish branch of the Nordic Resistance Movement and three flag bearers, who were carrying Nazi flags.[10] In Spring 2019, the organizers of the march announced the formation of the Kohti Vapautta! group.[3] The group was formed in anticipation of the ban on the previous group, although the new group was for a time itself expected to be banned.[2] The National Bureau of Investigation suspects the Nordic Resistance Movement to be continuing its operations under the names Kohti Vapautta! and Suomalaisapu.[11][12] See also
References
External linksMedia related to Kohti Vapautta! at Wikimedia Commons |