Tampere committee recommends removal of Deputy Mayor Ilkka Sasi over trust issues

A temporary committee assessing the trustworthiness of Tampere’s Deputy Mayor Ilkka Sasi plans to recommend his removal from office to the Tampere City Council. The committee is scheduled to meet next Tuesday, September 3rd, to make a final decision. Before this, the issue will also be discussed at the City Board meeting on Monday, where the committee has requested a statement. However, the City Board is not expected to provide an opinion on the matter.

According to the proposal by the committee, “The repeated media reports concerning Ilkka Sasi’s criminal allegations and his behavior, combined with the negative publicity associated with the City of Tampere as a public entity and city-organized events, constitute grounds for losing trust.”

On Monday, Joni Köykkä, the area prosecutor for Western Finland, decided not to bring charges against Sasi. The prosecutor concluded that there was no probable cause to support the allegations against him. Sasi had been accused of sexual harassment and alcohol-related offenses, allegedly occurring last December in Tampere. He has previously denied the allegations reported in the media.

The decision not to prosecute details that Sasi encountered the 17-year-old complainants, along with their 20-year-old friend, at a McDonald’s restaurant during the night. Sasi approached them for a conversation, and the group later went to his apartment, where he allegedly offered them alcohol. The accusation of sexual harassment involves one complainant stating that Sasi came very close to her on the apartment balcony.