Prosecutors have filed charges against a man who allegedly attacked MP Ben Zyskowicz (NCP) this past spring ahead of parliamentary elections. The prosecutor filed the complaint at Helsinki District Court on Friday.
The charges include suspected assault and illegal threats made at Itäkeskus metro station in March, when Zyskowicz, who was running for reelection at the time, was waiting for the metro with two members of his campaign team.
The assailant, a man born in 1984, walked up to Zyskowicz and attacked him. He verbally abused the MP for his Jewish heritage and hit him in the face. Security guards apprehended the man, and the police took him into custody.
"The man started shouting about Nato, how he would like to kill me and push me under the subway, which was behind my back. After that, he hit me in the face with his hand," Zyskowicz told Yle at the time.
The assailant was also suspected of violating political freedoms, but the prosecutor decided not to bring charges in this regard.
The man admitted to the assault during the pretrial investigation. He also claimed he had encountered Zyskowicz by chance, according to the prosecutor.
The man admitted to calling Zyskowicz a Jew during the assault. According to the prosecutor, the assailant had formed the belief that Nato's expansion was orchestrated by the far-right and Jews.
National Coalition Party politician Ben Zyskowicz is Finland's longest-serving MP.
The date of the hearing is yet to be determined.
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