Vasemmistoliito candidate comes under attack in Helsinki

A Vasemmistoliito (Left Alliance) candidate of the upcoming April 14 parliamentary polls came under attack during his election campaigning at Itäkeskus metro station in Helsinki on Monday afternoon.

A local Finn of forties reportedly assaulted the immigrant background candidate named Suldaan Said Ahmed at the chest of Ahmed, Vasemmistoliito source and local media said.

The miscreant also threw abusive words to him (Ahmed) and tore leaflets from the victim´s hands when he was waiting for a train.

Responding to the call of Ahmed, who is also a member of the Helsinki City Council, police rushed to the spot immediately.

The attacker, however, managed to escape by a bicycle.

“Threats and violence are not a part of democracy. Everyone has to be able to do election campaigning without fear,” Ahmed told Daily Finland, adding that he got number of supportive messages following the attack.

“Now everything is fine, I am at home and have canceled all election events for today,” he said late Monday night.

Helsinki Police in a twitter post said that they are investigating the incident as an assault and defamation.

Earlier, on Sunday a man wearing a jacket with the emblems of a right wing civic grouping tried to attack Foreign Minister Timo Soini.

Soini was participating into a political event at a market place in Vantaa, north of Helsinki. The man was apprehended by Soini's official security before reaching Soini.