Vihreät leader removed from plane for protest

A leader of the Vihreä Liitö (Green League) was removed from an aircraft at Helsinki airport on Tuesday for protesting against deportation of a fellow passenger, the police said.

Members of the law-enforcing agency escorted Aino Pennanen, legal secretary of the Vihreä Liitö, as she refused to be seated in the plane in protest against the deportation.

Police held Pennanen responsible for creating an aviation misdemeanour but did not suspect her of committing any crime.

She also broadcast a live video of the protest on her Facebook page.

The incident delayed the departure of the aircraft by about 10 minutes, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

In the video Pennanen said she was not following the instructions of the cabin crew as she knew another passenger of the same flight was being deported by force.

She also told the local media that it was not a pre-planned protest and she was not aware of the deportation beforehand.

She even had no information about the country of the deportee.