Ano Turtiainen


Ano Veli Samuel Turtiainen is a Finnish former powerlifter and a politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the South-Eastern Finland constituency. He lives in Juva. Turtiainen was elected to the parliament in the 2019 parliamentary election.

Criminal record

In December 2015 Turtiainen published a Facebook status saying that "people had taken great personal risks when acting in elimination operations to destroy existing and planned asylum centres". In his Facebook status, Turtiainen considered the Finnish Red Cross to be his greatest enemy and wrote if "it was now time to expand operations to the enemy headquarters". The matter escalated into a controversy after Member of Parliament Laura Huhtasaari had liked the status. The Finnish Red Cross reported Turtiainen's message to the police. In September 2018 Turtiainen was sentenced in the district court of Southern Savonia to loss of 60 days' income for public incitement to crime. After being elected as a Member of Parliament, Turtiainen commented that "in this company a criminal sentence is just a feather in my cap".
Turtiainen has also been sentenced for assault. According to Helsingin Sanomat, the district court of Southern Savonia sentenced Turtiainen to fines in March 2010 for assaulting a 14-year-old boy from Juva. Turtiainen had been previously sentenced for assault in 1997 and 1995.

Controversy

On 3 June 2020 Turtiainen mocked George Floyd on his Twitter account with a tweet showing an image of Floyd, a police officer's knee on his neck and his face colorized pink, with the phrase "Pink Floyd". His parliamentary group called the tweet "not acceptable". The tweet was later deleted. As a response to Turtiainen's tweet, the Finns Party expelled him from the parliamentary group. Citing zero tolerance for racism, US-based company Elitefts announced that it is ending its business relationship with Ano Turtiainen's company, Metal Sport & Gear.

Sports career

Turtiainen competed for the International Powerlifting Federation, World Powerlifting Congress and World Powerlifting Organization. In 2002, he set a deadlift world record 405.5 kg for WPC. In 1998, Turtiainen was tested positive for androgenic drugs and banned for two years.