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FINNISH CRIMINAL LAW · CHAPTER 15, SECTION 7
Finnish Criminal Code, Chapter 15, Section 7 — Todistusaineiston vääristeleminen
This page examines the wording and legal elements of section 7 of Chapter 15 of the Finnish Criminal Code, then applies those elements to documented discrepancies in a criminal case. It separates the statute, an English translation prepared for this page, documentary facts, and legal assessment. The individuals involved in the case are not named here.
An examination of Case R 706/2025/5226, including the investigation record, evidentiary materials, and the resulting judgment, revealed significant gaps in the documented evidentiary record.
The court is required to base its findings on verifiable evidence, not on assumptions or a convenient version of events. If independent evidence is lacking, that must be acknowledged.
Rikoslaki (39/1889), 15 luku, 7 § — Todistusaineiston vääristeleminen
Joka saadakseen syyttömän tuomituksi rangaistukseen tai muuten toista vahingoittaakseen kätkee, hävittää, turmelee, muuntaa tai muuten vääristää tuomioistuimessa tai rikosasian esitutkinnassa todisteena tarpeellisen esineen, asiakirjan tai muun todisteen, jolla hänen tietensä on merkitystä asiassa, on tuomittava todistusaineiston vääristelemisestä sakkoon tai vankeuteen enintään kahdeksi vuodeksi.
Todistusaineiston vääristelemisestä tuomitaan myös se, joka 1 momentissa mainitussa tarkoituksessa antaa perättömäksi tai vääristellyksi tietämänsä todisteen käytettäväksi tai itse käyttää sitä harhauttavalla tavalla tuomioistuimessa tai rikosasian esitutkinnassa.
Source: Finlex, Criminal Code (39/1889), Chapter 15, Section 7. The Finnish wording above is reproduced from the current legislation text.
Official Finnish text on Finlex
The following is our own English translation, prepared for explanatory purposes. It is not an official translation.
A person who, in order to have an innocent person convicted and sentenced, or otherwise to harm another person, conceals, destroys, damages, alters or otherwise falsifies an object, document or other item of evidence necessary as evidence in a court or in a criminal pre-trial investigation, and known by that person to be relevant to the matter, shall be sentenced for falsification of evidence to a fine or imprisonment for at most two years.
A person shall also be sentenced for falsification of evidence if, for the purpose described in subsection 1, that person submits for use, or personally uses in a misleading manner in court or in a criminal pre-trial investigation, evidence that the person knows to be false or falsified.
How an unidentified physical object became part of a criminal finding
This is not a hypothetical evidentiary problem.
A criminal conviction has already been entered.
The Helsinki District Court convicted the defendant of assault (pahoinpitely) under Chapter 21, Section 5 of the Finnish Criminal Code and imposed a fine. The judgment therefore did not merely record an allegation or describe a disputed event. It produced a criminal-law consequence.
The harm is already real.
The disputed evidentiary narrative has already resulted in criminal liability and a criminal record. This analysis therefore does not ask what might happen if the evidence were eventually accepted. It examines how the existing evidentiary record produced an actual conviction.
The purpose is precise:
to trace the evidentiary chain from allegation to judicial finding and determine where an assertion became treated as an established fact.
The alleged mechanism of injury is unusually specific.
According to the pre-trial account, the object was described as keittiötikkaat — kitchen steps or a kitchen ladder. The complainant described it as approximately 10 kilograms and stated that he had made it himself from solid oak.
The terminology subsequently changes.
The prosecution referred to the object as something like “tuoli tai tikat” — a chair or steps.
The judgment then describes:
“Tikkaat/jakkara”
and characterises the object as:
“ikään kuin jakkara(malliset)”
— essentially, ladder/steps of a stool-like form.
This is not a translation problem.
A kitchen ladder, a chair and a stool are different physical constructions.
The issue is not whether people may use everyday words imprecisely. The issue is whether the physical object relied upon as the alleged instrument of the assault was ever established with sufficient precision to connect the verbal description to an identifiable physical object.
The record reviewed for this audit contains descriptions of the alleged object. It does not establish that object as an independently identified physical exhibit with a documented physical identity.
That distinction is fundamental.
The evidentiary chain required for the prosecution’s account is straightforward:
The record contains an allegation connecting the defendant to the act.
But an allegation that the defendant threw an object is not independent proof that she handled a particular physical object.
Likewise, a photograph of an injury may document that an injury existed. It does not, by itself, establish:
The earlier analysis correctly identified this distinction: the injury and the instrument causing the injury are two separate evidentiary propositions.
The evidentiary sequence is therefore:
The problem is not that one word is legally forbidden.
The problem is that the terminology becomes less, rather than more, physically determinate as the case progresses.
The court ultimately relies upon the object as part of the factual mechanism of the assault, while the record does not provide an independently identified physical exhibit that fixes exactly what object that terminology denotes.
The photograph reproduced in the case materials shows a close-up of a small area of skin on a hairy leg. A red arrow marks a faint discoloured area. The image does not show the person’s face, the entire leg, the foot, or sufficient anatomical landmarks to establish the exact location of the mark with certainty.
The image does not independently establish whose body is depicted, whether the leg is left or right, or whether the marked area corresponds to the precise location of the alleged impact. Visually, the area resembles the shin, but the photograph alone does not conclusively establish that anatomical identification.
This distinction is material to the allegation in this case. N described an impact to his left thigh, above the knee. The photograph, by itself, does not establish that the visible mark is located on the left thigh or that it corresponds to the alleged impact site.
According to N’s account, the photograph was taken approximately two weeks after the alleged incident. The case chronology presented in this audit indicates that the photograph was accepted into the police materials approximately four months after the incident, following N’s pre-trial interrogation, in which his procedural status had changed to victim from suspect.
These dates matter because the photograph is not a contemporaneous visual record of the alleged incident. The image itself does not establish when the mark appeared, how it was caused, or whether it resulted from the event described in the allegation.
The image may document the presence of a visible mark on the photographed skin. On its own, however, it does not establish:
the identity of the person photographed;
whether the photographed leg is the left or right leg;
the precise anatomical location of the mark;
when the mark appeared or what caused it;
the identity of the object allegedly responsible;
the alleged object’s dimensions, weight, or trajectory;
who allegedly threw the object or whether the alleged act occurred as described.
These are distinct factual propositions. The photograph cannot, by itself, establish all of them.
The Helsinki District Court’s judgment accepted the injury photograph as part of the evidentiary material concerning the alleged incident. Its evidentiary significance must nevertheless be distinguished from the conclusions drawn about the cause of the mark, the alleged mechanism of injury, and the identity of the person responsible.
Under Finnish criminal procedure, evidence is assessed as a whole. The issue is not whether a photograph can be admitted or considered, but what facts this particular image is capable of establishing and whether it independently supports the conclusions attributed to it.
A photograph showing a mark is not, by itself, proof of who caused it, how it was caused, or when it occurred. Those conclusions require a demonstrated evidentiary connection to the alleged act.
The next break in the chain concerns identification.
The witness’s account did not establish direct visual observation of the defendant throwing the object. The evidentiary significance of this matters because the judgment later describes the situation in the qualified form that the witness had not kunnolla (clearly) seen the throwing event.
“Did not see”
Describes an absence of visual identification.
“Did not see clearly”
Leaves open the possibility that some part of the act was observed.
“Did not see” and “did not see clearly” are not equivalent evidentiary statements.
That distinction cannot be created retrospectively by wording alone. If the witness did not see who performed the act, the identification of the defendant requires another evidentiary basis.
The conviction therefore depends on what connects:
the unidentified physical object
the alleged throw
the defendant
the injury
That connection must be demonstrated, not merely assumed.
This is where the legal standard becomes relevant — after, not before, the factual reconstruction.
The prosecution bears the burden of proving the circumstances underlying the criminal charge. A conviction requires that no reasonable doubt remain concerning guilt. The court must also assess the evidence thoroughly and objectively.
The question is therefore not whether the court found the defendant’s responsibility plausible.
It is whether the evidence established it beyond reasonable doubt.
A conclusion that another perpetrator is unlikely does not itself prove that the defendant was the perpetrator.
“No convincing alternative has been established” is not the same proposition as “the prosecution has proved this defendant committed the act.”
The burden remains with the prosecution.
Only after reconstructing the evidentiary chain does the question under Criminal Code, Chapter 15, Section 7 — Todistusaineiston vääristeleminen become meaningful.
The issue is not:
“The court made an interpretation I disagree with.”
That would be an insufficient basis for alleging criminal conduct.
The legally serious question is narrower:
Did any person intentionally conceal, destroy, alter, falsify, or misleadingly use evidence in a manner falling within the statutory elements of Chapter 15, Section 7, including the required purpose or intent?
That requires identification of an actual act, the evidence establishing that act, and the statutory mental element.
A weak evidentiary record is not automatically evidence falsification.
But neither can an evidentiary distortion be dismissed merely because it appears inside a judicial narrative.
That is why the sequence matters.
The present audit does not need to prove that the alleged object never existed.
It establishes something narrower and more important:
The alleged instrument of the assault is described in the record, but its physical identity is not independently established as a clearly identified physical exhibit.
The distinction between description and identification is the point at which the evidentiary chain must be examined.
Because the object is used to explain the mechanism of injury, and because that mechanism is used to attribute the injury to the defendant, the uncertainty surrounding the object’s identity is not peripheral.
It sits inside the causal chain leading to the conviction.
FINNISH CRIMINAL LAW · CHAPTER 15, SECTION 7
Finnish Criminal Code, Chapter 15, Section 7 — Todistusaineiston vääristeleminen
This page examines the wording and legal elements of section 7 of Chapter 15 of the Finnish Criminal Code, then applies those elements to documented discrepancies in a criminal case. It separates the statute, an English translation prepared for this page, documentary facts, and legal assessment. The individuals involved in the case are not named here.
Method: a discrepancy is not automatically proof of a criminal offence. The analysis asks whether the documented conduct corresponds to the specific acts, knowledge and purpose required by section 7.
Rikoslaki (39/1889), 15 luku, 7 § — Todistusaineiston vääristeleminen
Joka saadakseen syyttömän tuomituksi rangaistukseen tai muuten toista vahingoittaakseen kätkee, hävittää, turmelee, muuntaa tai muuten vääristää tuomioistuimessa tai rikosasian esitutkinnassa todisteena tarpeellisen esineen, asiakirjan tai muun todisteen, jolla hänen tietensä on merkitystä asiassa, on tuomittava todistusaineiston vääristelemisestä sakkoon tai vankeuteen enintään kahdeksi vuodeksi.
Todistusaineiston vääristelemisestä tuomitaan myös se, joka 1 momentissa mainitussa tarkoituksessa antaa perättömäksi tai vääristellyksi tietämänsä todisteen käytettäväksi tai itse käyttää sitä harhauttavalla tavalla tuomioistuimessa tai rikosasian esitutkinnassa.
Source: Finlex, Criminal Code (39/1889), Chapter 15, Section 7. The Finnish wording above is reproduced from the current legislation text.
Official Finnish text on Finlex
The following is our own English translation, prepared for explanatory purposes. It is not an official translation.
A person who, in order to have an innocent person convicted and sentenced, or otherwise to harm another person, conceals, destroys, damages, alters or otherwise falsifies an object, document or other item of evidence necessary as evidence in a court or in a criminal pre-trial investigation, and known by that person to be relevant to the matter, shall be sentenced for falsification of evidence to a fine or imprisonment for at most two years.
A person shall also be sentenced for falsification of evidence if, for the purpose described in subsection 1, that person submits for use, or personally uses in a misleading manner in court or in a criminal pre-trial investigation, evidence that the person knows to be false or falsified.
Section 7 contains two related forms of conduct.
Route A — interference with evidence
The conduct must involve concealing, destroying, damaging, altering or otherwise falsifying an object, document or other item of evidence that is necessary as evidence in court or in a criminal pre-trial investigation and known to be relevant to the matter.
Route B — submitting or using false or falsified evidence
The person must submit evidence they know to be false or falsified for use, or personally use it in a misleading manner, in court or in a criminal pre-trial investigation.
Purpose matters. The statutory purpose is to have an innocent person convicted and sentenced, or otherwise to harm another person. Knowledge and purpose cannot simply be assumed from the fact that a document is inaccurate or that two accounts conflict. They must be assessed against the evidence.
Section 7 provides for a fine or imprisonment for up to two years. Chapter 15, section 8 separately addresses aggravated falsification of evidence and has additional requirements.
The case materials reviewed for this analysis concern a Finnish criminal proceeding. The following issues are described without identifying the individuals involved.
The account of the official court audio reviewed for this analysis is that a witness said they did not see the alleged throw of a stool at all. The written judgment instead describes the witness as not having properly seen the throwing situation, using the Finnish wording ei ollut kunnolla nähnyt itse heittotilannetta.
These formulations are not identical. “Did not see the event at all” describes no direct visual observation; “did not see the event properly” may imply some observation, although incomplete. If the audio confirms the first wording, the written summary materially changes the description of the witness’s opportunity to observe the alleged act.
Section 7 assessment: this discrepancy is relevant to the reliability and accuracy of the judicial record. However, a disputed or inaccurate summary of testimony does not, by itself, establish the offence under section 7. The legal question is whether a person knowingly submitted or used false or falsified evidence in a misleading manner for the statutory purpose, or engaged in one of the specified forms of evidence interference. The source audio and the exact written passage must be compared directly.
The pre-trial interrogation record states that the witness returned at approximately 17:00, about 10–15 minutes before the emergency call. The emergency-call record available for review carries the timestamp 29 December 2023, 04:55:35. These entries appear inconsistent as recorded and require careful treatment of the original records and the time/date context.
Section 7 assessment: a time inconsistency can affect the assessment of an account, but is not automatically falsification of evidence. It becomes relevant to section 7 only if evidence establishes the statutory conduct, the person’s knowledge that evidence was false or falsified (where applicable), and the required purpose.
The judgment accepted an allegation that a heavy kitchen step stool had been thrown and caused an injury. The scene analysis prepared for this case identifies objects and a door configuration that are said to obstruct the alleged trajectory. This is a reconstruction based on photographs and must be evaluated against the original images, the positions and dimensions of the objects, and the description of the alleged item.
Section 7 assessment: a disputed or physically implausible account is not, without more, proof of evidence falsification. The issue under section 7 would be whether a person knowingly falsified, concealed, altered or misleadingly used evidence in the manner the statute describes. The scene geometry may be relevant to testing the truth of the account, but does not alone prove who acted, what they knew, or their purpose.
The judgment refers to a bruise on the other party’s leg as compatible with the account of being struck by the alleged stool. The existence of an injury and the identity of the person who caused it are distinct propositions. An injury photograph may establish visible marks, but its evidentiary value concerning the cause depends on the image, context and other evidence.
Section 7 assessment: an inference that is open to dispute is not automatically a falsified item of evidence. The relevant question is whether there was knowing falsification or misleading use of evidence meeting the statutory elements.
The judgment describes the hearing as lasting approximately 2.5 hours, while the court audio obtained for review totals approximately 77 minutes. This is a discrepancy between the stated hearing duration and the files available for this analysis. It does not, without additional evidence, establish why the duration differs or what the available files omit.
Section 7 assessment: the duration discrepancy warrants precise documentation. To connect it to section 7, evidence would need to establish that relevant evidence was intentionally concealed, destroyed, altered or falsified, or that known false or falsified evidence was submitted or used misleadingly for the statutory purpose. A difference in duration alone does not establish those elements.
The issues above raise questions about the accuracy and evidentiary basis of parts of the judicial reasoning. The most concrete issue is the apparent difference between the wording attributed to the witness in the official audio and the wording used in the written judgment.
On the material currently described, it would be premature to state as an established fact that the criminal offence in section 7 has been committed. The available discrepancies support a documentary audit; a conclusion under section 7 requires proof of the specific statutory conduct and purpose. The analysis must not confuse a potentially erroneous finding, an inaccurate summary, a false statement by a participant, and criminal falsification of evidence: they are legally distinct possibilities.
Each element must be supported separately. The absence of proof for one element cannot be replaced by the seriousness of the overall suspicion.
Primary legal source: Finnish Criminal Code (Rikoslaki 39/1889), Chapter 15, Section 7, Todistusaineiston vääristeleminen, current text published by Finlex.
Read the legislation on Finlex
The English translation on this page is our own explanatory translation, not an official translation. This page is a documentary and legal analysis, not a judicial finding that any identified person committed an offence. It will be updated only where the underlying source material supports the added statement.
The defendant was convicted of assault. However, the materials examined in this audit do not identify an independent eyewitness to the alleged throwing of the object or provide physical evidence independently establishing that event as described.
The evidentiary record contains material discrepancies:
The complainant’s wife called the police after the complainant allegedly attacked the defendant and her mother and threatened the defendant’s life, repeatedly shouting: “Are you still not dead? Die! Die! Die!” The police were called for protection, not merely to document a disputed incident.
The complainant placed the event at 17:00 on 28 December 2023, while the emergency-call record is timestamped 04:55:35 on 29 December 2023. These are not the same time reference and require a clear chronological account.
The pre-trial account and the account presented at trial differ in their description of the defendant’s conduct. The earlier account portrays her as actively involved; the trial account describes a sequence in which the complainant returned to the apartment after his headphones ran out of battery. The accounts must be assessed for consistency rather than combined into a single unquestioned narrative.
The complainant described the episode as lasting approximately 30 seconds. The materials examined do not independently establish the precise sequence of movements within that interval.
The image documents a marked area of skin but does not independently establish the identity of the person photographed, the precise anatomical location, the cause or timing of the mark, or who caused it.
Its description varies between kitchen steps, a stool-like object, and a chair or steps. The accounts also differ concerning its origin, including whether it was made by the complainant himself or purchased from IKEA. The materials examined do not establish the identity and physical characteristics of a specific object through its production, measurement, or forensic examination.
These are not merely differences in wording. They concern the chronology, the alleged conduct, the mechanism of injury, and the identity of the object said to have caused it.
The materials examined do not provide independent corroboration for the alleged throwing of a specific object in the manner described by the complainant.
The complainant’s account is evidence that he made the allegation; it is not, by itself, independent verification that the alleged event occurred as described.
The central finding of this audit is therefore that the documented record contains significant gaps between the allegation, the available physical material, and the conclusions reached in the judgment. The conviction is an established legal outcome.
The evidence discrepancies documented in Case R 706/2025/5226 provide grounds to suspect that the conduct of officials involved in the investigation and judicial proceedings may fall within the scope of Chapter 15, Section 7 of the Finnish Criminal Code, concerning falsification of evidence.
The case record contains materially conflicting descriptions of the alleged object, including its type and origin; inconsistencies between the complainant’s pre-trial and trial accounts; and a discrepancy between the recorded testimony that the complainant did not see the actual throwing and the judgment’s softer formulation that he did not see it clearly. The injury photograph does not independently establish the alleged mechanism of injury or identify the person responsible. The emergency-call record also documents an initial report of an alleged attack and threats, while the subsequent proceedings resulted in the defendant’s conviction.
Taken together, these discrepancies provide grounds for a serious concern that the recording, presentation, or assessment of evidence may not have faithfully reflected the underlying materials.
The documented facts therefore justify examining whether the conduct of the officials involved may constitute falsification of evidence under Chapter 15, Section 7.
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