Oulu stabbing suspect not criminally responsible — that is the conclusion reached in court after a psychiatric report confirmed the man accused of attacking a student near Oulu University Hospital was suffering from serious mental illness at the time.
The suspect, born in 2001, admitted to the stabbing that happened on 9 September last year. The victim, a foreign-background upper secondary school student, was stabbed four times in the neck and upper body. He survived after receiving urgent hospital care.
The court proceedings began shortly after the incident. In December, Oulu District Court gave a temporary ruling confirming the man committed the act and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
That assessment, carried out by the Institute for Health and Welfare, found that the suspect was unable to understand his actions or their consequences. He has been placed in involuntary psychiatric care and is no longer facing prison.
The prosecutor had originally sought a conviction for attempted manslaughter. That charge will not proceed, based on the mental health ruling.
The court is expected to deliver its final decision next week. It will determine how the act is officially classified and whether a racist motive was involved.
Police and prosecutors believe the stabbing was racially motivated. The suspect disagrees and claims he acted on impulse after an exchange of glances with the victim.
His defence team acknowledged that he holds strong views on immigration. Still, they argued that those beliefs were not the reason for the attack.
The case is part of a larger trend of violent incidents in Oulu involving suspects with extreme views. In an earlier case, a known neo-Nazi stabbed two children inside a shopping center. He was found guilty but avoided prison and was placed in involuntary psychiatric care.
Just one week later, another attack occurred at the same location. A 15-year-old targeted a man of foreign background. That teenager was convicted of attempted manslaughter but ruled not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
These events have raised concern throughout Finland about the overlap between extremist beliefs and mental health issues in violent crimes. Many are questioning how justice can be served when accountability is removed due to psychiatric rulings.
