No Human Rights in Helsinki? Alfa Moving, Helsinki Police and the office of the Finnish Justice Chancellor
Helsinki has a rather storied background within Human Rights.
In 1964, The Declaration of Helsinki begins its life of revisions and expansions.
The Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) is a set of ethical principles regarding human experimentation developed for the medical community by the World Medical Association (WMA). It is widely regarded as the cornerstone document on human research ethics
Then we have
The Helsinki Accords, Helsinki Final Act, or Helsinki Declaration was the final act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Finlandia Hall of Helsinki, Finland, during July and August 1, 1975.
This led to the 1978 founding of The Helsinki Watch.
In 1978, Helsinki Watch was established by Robert L. Bernstein as a private American NGO designed to monitor the former Soviet Union’s compliance with the 1975 Helsinki Accords.[ Expanding in size and scope, Helsinki Watch began using media coverage to document human rights violations committed by abusive governments Since its inception, it has produced several other watch committees dedicated to monitoring human rights in other parts of the world. In 1988, all of the watch committees were combined to form the Human Rights Watch
In 1988, Helsinki Watch evolved into Human Rights Watch.
This also led to the 1982 founding of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) was a self-governing group of non-governmental organizations that act to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America and Central Asia. A specific primary goal was to monitor compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act and its Follow-up Documents.
Though the IHF would eventually be dissolved under a cloud of embezzlement by its former financial manager, the Austrian Rainer Tannenberger.
You could say Helsinki, and Finland, have really been -there- for Human Rights matters.
Yet, as of the 16th of May 2018, the office of the Finnish Justice Chancellor has informed me I am sub-human. While they do not directly use that wording; it must mean that and I must be; if I am not to be afforded any protections when it comes to rights or property or privacy or medical privacy.
As that has to be the case; if civilians can search and seize my property without any police or customs oversight or involvement. Based only on, as Helsinki Police put it “basic curiosity.”
Due to family health reasons and coming travel obligations, I contracted Alfa Moving / Alfa Quality Moving Oy to relocate my home studio to Dublin.
Moving regularly follows closely after the death of a spouse, divorce, marital separation, going to prison and the death of a close family member; as one of the most stressful things you can go through.
Alfa Moving are advertised as the biggest and best moving company in Scandinavia.
Their website talks about how much they understand how stressful moving is, and how they aim to make it as easy as possible. (Granted, since we’ve become entangled, it’d seem, they’ve coincidentally been changing their website, a lot)
In discussion with an Alfa Moving sales rep*, I was assured help with the packing. Which is why I hired them. A little nudge here and there, people to carry boxes to vans, pack the difficult things and do the difficult parts.
Due to the warm and professional manner of the sales rep, I not only hired Alfa Moving, but ended up friends with the sales rep, as they were a fellow DJ and a lovely person, and we ended up spending a hardware addled night in the studio.
After hiring Alfa Moving, I was moved to Bianca Rannaval, my move specialist.
On the 7th of March, when Alfa Moving’s representatives arrived the apartment was 2/3 packed. The last bit was the sensitive equipment and pouring the odds’n’sods into boxes. Initially, one moving man came, though he was joined by another. They saw me pack two boxes labelled ‘Documents’ and they saw me pack a couple bags of medicine. The medicine in the bags all had my name and pharmacy identifying information on it. All medical information and prescriptions was being shipped with the medicine in two folders marked Medicine and Medical Information. At no point was any advice offered regarding this.
I suspected something strange was happening because Alfa Moving seemed unable to send me the completed invoice so I could immediately pay them. This might not seem important, but later, Bille Larsen (VP Sales & Strategy), would accuse me of refusing or failing to pay my bill.
Around the 8th I received a phone call from the mentioned sales rep rather than Bianca Rannaval my move specialist. The sales rep began to explain that they had found medicine whilst repacking my goods and there was issue with this. I questioned why, if the shipment was going under my passport, and the medicine was labelled and being shipped with the documents. I also questioned why they were repacking and why they were searching through my private and confidential medical information without asking me. Private and confidential medical information something, until recently, I understood to be covered rigorously by Finnish law.
Somewhere here
and somewhere here
Yet now a warehouse of strangers had detailed knowledge of the medicine I took.
What I got in response to my questions was
“Man, I told them you wouldn’t believe me.”
It was gradually revealed that, as witnessed and repeatedly stated, Alfa Moving had searched my belongings based on discrimination. That I was not “White, rich, Finnish, living in a semi-detached in Espoo” and that an order had come from management to search my belongings for drugs. Initially I was told some boxes had been marked to be searched, but then it gradually transpired everything was searched.
“The search began before I got there. Bianca and the warehouse were already searching it when I arrived.”
At no point prior was I notified about them searching through my private medicine, or my belongings. Nor was it offered that I attend a search of my private and personal belongings. At no point Alfa Moving did not phone customs or the police.
“They got really excited when they found the small jar of pink pills.”
“Yeah? Why?”
“They thought they were ecstasy or MDMA.”
“What did they do then? Did they call the police?”
“No.”
“What were they?”
“Vitamins, for the gym, in the jar to stay dry.”
For a company concerned about shipping illegal drugs, it seems highly suspicious that when they did find what they thought were drugs, they didn’t immediately phone both customs and the police. Or even the police.
One would have to think about that, and the questions it raises about Alfa Moving.
“I had to stop them throwing away your gas lighters. Showed them they were empty.”
Not only were Alfa Moving searching through my goods for drugs they seemingly had no intention of phoning the police about, but they were also deciding what I could keep.
“Bianca said they’ve done nothing wrong. That they have a right to know what they are shipping.”
Yet didn’t phone the police when she thought vitamins were MDMA.
Just got excited about it.
“I hope you do make a complaint. I hope they do get caught for once. ”
Wait…what?
I get sent a photo of my medicine unpacked and spilled loose and disordered into one box. Previously sealed medicine can be seen to be open.
Alfa Moving will remain unapologetic and belligerent that they have done nothing wrong. They will threaten to dispose of or destroy my belongings.
Alfa Moving will attempt to charge €350 for the joy of having my goods searched and seized.
I am repeatedly told the sales rep is lying and at one point when I suggest a gesture of goodwill, I am told,
“Why would I apologise, we have nothing to apologise for.
Why would I make goodwill gesture, you will just say it is too low and refuse.”
Alfa Moving’s VP of Sales & Strategy, Bille Larsen will state that he is going defame me to other shipping companies.
Later, Alfa Moving’s VP of Sales & Strategy, Bille Larsen will tell me I am a bad person who has no rights. Repeatedly.
It is May 22nd, I still do not have my belongings, nor do I know what Alfa Moving employees have removed or damaged. I know some of the employees involved are no longer working for Alfa Moving.
All of what transpired will be covered in detail in ‘Alfa Moving & Beta Holdings Adventures’
I am forced to make a complaint to the Helsinki police, citing the witness, the information I was given, the photographs and evidence of opened sealed medicine.
Helsinki Police reply to tell me no crime has happened, nothing is wrong. The search was conducted based on basic curiosity.
Maybe if sealed medicine had been opened…
But it was…
But then Helsinki Police often seem to twist facts like this…
The search was conducted based on basic or natural curiosity and nothing is wrong. No crime has been committed.
They will ignore the bit about Alfa Moving thinking they had found drugs and then not reporting it.
Ignoring bits seem to be the norm with Helsinki Police.
Essentially Helsinki Police are telling me;
Any civilian can, on basic or natural curiosity;
with no police or customers presence or oversight,
Search me,
Seize my belongings,
Decide what I get to keep
And go through my private and confidential medical information
And I have no legal right to say anything about this and no legal recourse.
Even when it has been stated that the search happened based on discrimination.
On the 16th of May 2018 I received a letter from the office of Finnish Justice Chancellor telling me that
“The procedural and prosecutor’s actions and any other allegations of criminal offenses are so unidentified that they can not be investigated.”
According to the office of the Finnish Justice Chancellor,
I am unable to refuse to be searched by civilians.
I am not to issue complaint about it. Because there is nothing to complain about.
I have no right to privacy, be that personal or that of private and confidential medical information.
I have no right not to be discriminated against and no right to refuse a search by another civilian based on discrimination as long as the civilian has basic curiosity.
Any civilian, without police or customs presence or oversight, can, based on basic curiosity, search me and they are not obliged to phone the police, and can decide what I or they get to keep from my belongings.
*name withheld by request
