A Helsinki Mayor Is Under Fire After Being Caught Red Handed Spray-Painting Graffiti

HELSINKI, Finland — After being caught red-handed spray-painting graffiti in a railway tunnel last weekend, Finland’s deputy mayor faces legal action and calls for him to pay restitution for damages and quit.

According to the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, cleaning up graffiti illegally painted by Paavo Arhinmäki, one of Helsinki’s four deputy mayors, cost the city roughly 3,500 euros ($3,830).

According to Finnish street art specialists, Arhinmäki, 46, and a companion were apprehended by guards in a rail tunnel in eastern Helsinki on Friday, immediately after they finished graffiti that looked partly inspired by works seen in New York City in the 1970s.

Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper, tweeted a photo of the large-scale graffiti.

In a Facebook message on Sunday, Arhinmäki, a long-time fan of street art and a former graffiti artist, apologized for his “stupid fooling around.” He is a former congressman and the head of the Left Alliance, and he served as culture and sports minister from 2011 to 2014.

Police are investigating the incident as vandalism and interference with rail traffic, which has been temporarily suspended due to the incident. Cargo trains traveling to and from a port in Helsinki use the rail tunnel.

Cleaning up graffiti illegally painted by Paavo Arhinmäki, one of Helsinki’s four deputy mayors, cost the city roughly 3,500 euros ($3,830).

It was unclear whether Arhinmäki would face legal action.

“I have committed a crime and bear full responsibility for it,” Arhinmäki told YLE on Monday, but he has refused to quit his position and the Helsinki City Council, where his Left Alliance party supports him.

The case has sparked outrage and controversy among Helsinki residents on social media, with the majority denouncing — but others vehemently supporting — the conduct of the deputy mayor in charge of culture and recreation in Helsinki, a city of 650,000 people.

The Finnish capital spends over 650,000 euros ($710,000) per year removing illegal graffiti throughout the city and is currently looking to establish additional sanctioned street art areas.

SOURCE – (AP)