Hellsten, Simo

Hellsten, Simo

Simo Hellsten

1 December 2001Feature

Finnish CO activist Simo Hellsten recounts an inspirational tale of symbolic nonviolent direct action to liberate a comrade from incarceration.

On 23 August a Finnish antimilitarist civil disobedience group - The Wall Breakers - symbolically attempted to rescue a total objector from prison.

As part of a small support demonstration at the Katajanokka prison, one of the group threw a rope over the prison wall while two others started digging a tunnel under it. The digging went on for half an hour until the police ended the performance. No arrests were made, though it is possible that indictments might follow.

The man on…