The National Bureau of Investigation NBI says it has taken over the case of a Finns Party activist badly beaten last Friday, and investigating whether it was attempted murder.
Pekka Kataja was attacked in his home in Jämsänkoski by two men. Kataja works as a local councilor and parliamentary assistant for Finns Party MP Jouni Kotiaho. In a release, NBI says that “due to the details… the case is now being investigated as a suspected attempted murder.”
Initially Kataja told the Finns Party newspaper that his attackers were “Arab-looking”, while another Finns Party MP Ville Tavio wrote on Twitter that the attackers had “a foreign background” however the police have not confirmed this and now Kataja says he thinks the attackers might have been from the far-right of his own party.
The activist gave a radio interview on Monday where he said it wasn’t his intention to put the blame on any group, and confiemd that his attackers were not foreign.
In the interview he Kataja said he had worked to clear the far right elements out of his local Finns Party group, and speculated that the attack came from the far-right.
“The preliminary investigation of the case is ongoing and is being actively pursued. Based on current information, this is an act of brutality against life and health” says Teemu Karhunen from the National Bureau of Investigation.
Police are calling for any witnesses or anyone who knows anything about the incident to get in touch with them.
