On October 9, the trial was initiated in the largest environmental crime case in Finland's history, when the court of justice in Rovaniemi started the trial against the mining company Talvivaara for the second time.
The prosecutor claims that the owner Pekka Perä should be sentenced to one year's imprisonment for a serious environmental crime, the former chief Harri Natunen to be sentenced to eight months of imprisonment and that the former leader of the mining company should receive 10 months of unconditional imprisonment.
As this extensive environmental crime case is now passed on to the court of appeal, prosecutors' claims are the same as before. In addition, the prosecutor claims that the former mining authority havet o pay 13.3 million euros to the state for the damage.
Talvivaara's leadership, among them the owner Pekka Perä, was convicted in May 2016 by the district court for pollution of the environment and the case proceeded to the court of appeal after both the prosecutor's side and the prosecutor appealed for judgment.
The mining company Talvivaara has been in scandalous state since the start of 2004.
Already in the planning phase, the owner Pekka Perä and the rest of the management team were suspected of environmental crime.
The mine in Sotkamo has been struggling with major problems. The mining operations in Sotkamo started in 2008, but it did not take long before the first plaster felling basin began to leak and waste water ran uncontrolled into nature.
This was the start of a major environmental disaster and an extended environmental crime case, unprecedented in Finnish crime history.
Now a new chapter begins in this extended sequel, when the case begins to be dealt with in the court of law again.
Since Talvivaara's owner Pekka Perä and the rest of the mining company's leadership were convicted of environmental crimes in May 2016, Talvivaara mine activities have been laid on ice.
At the same time, almost no damages could have been repaired by the mining company, which has undergone a business restructuring and thus avoided a bankruptcy with the help of that.
The problematic plaster felling basins stands still there with all that toxic waste water.
Two years ago, the state took over Talvivaara, as the actual mining operations in Sotkamo were sold to the state company Terrafame.
Talvivaara's leadership, despite of earlier conviction, continues to lift high salaries. Talvivaara is now aiming to start new business with metal scrap.