Finnish student barred from nuclear plant trip over citizenship
Finnish radio Yle reported that, due to the company's internal policy, a student with both Finnish and Russian citizenship was not allowed into the Olkiluoto power plant.
A teenager from Helsinki, holding Finnish and Russian citizenship, was excluded from a school trip to the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant.
Finnish radio Yle communicated this decision, citing the company's internal policy of prohibiting visits to the site by people from Russia and Belarus.
Strict security rules
The trip to the Olkiluoto power plant was planned for November, and the school had to provide personal data of the participants in advance. One of the teachers informed the student about the decision through a school application.
Hi, I received information from Olkiluoto that due to corporate security and the current world situation, you will not be able to participate in the visit to Olkiluoto, because you were born in Russia. This is a strict security policy that unfortunately cannot be influenced.
The teenager's mother expressed her outrage in a conversation with the Russian-language branch of Yle Novosti radio.
Does the nuclear power plant's management really think that a child could be a spy? What is the purpose of the ban? In what way is my son responsible for the 'world situation'? This is a completely racist, absurd and illegal justification for not allowing a pupil to go on a field trip
Reaction to the decision
The power plant operator, TVO, explained that these rules stem from an adopted security policy that excludes citizens of Russia and Belarus from the possibility of touring the facility.
Journalists from Yle Novosti decided to verify the validity of this policy by contacting the Finnish counter-intelligence agency Supo. The agency stated that no separate instructions have been issued for critical infrastructure facility managers, and the authorities of these facilities make security decisions.
The National Equality Ombudsman's office suggested that the student and his guardians should contact them regarding this matter, emphasising that differential treatment that is not justified by law may be considered discrimination.
