The swastika flag is not strictly prohibited by Finnish law, but a 2024 ruling by the Helsinki Court of Appeal has opened up the possibility that use can be considered a hate crime.Police in Lappeenranta received the first complaint about the flag on Monday. Image: Kalle Schönberg / YleYle News13.5. 16:58Police in Lappeenranta have taken down a swastika flag that was flying in the yard of a detached house in the southeastern city.Detective Superintendent Oili Saarelainen confirmed to Yle that the flag is now in the possession of the police after authorities received a number of complaints from the beginning of this week.He added that police are now working with a local prosecutor to determine whether a crime has been committed by the owner of the home — with incitement against an ethnic group a possible charge.Saarelainen noted however that the swastika flag is not prohibited by Finnish law."The question is whether one is allowed to publicly proclaim the ideology that this flag represents on one's own yard, which as a location naturally enjoys privacy protection," Saarelainen said.Use of swastika previously found illegalThe most significant precedent in Finland involving the displaying of a swastika flag concerns a case from 2024 involving the now-banned Nordic Resistance Movement.In its ruling, the Court of Appeal in Helsinki said the use of swastika flags at an Independence Day march in the capital sent a threatening, anti-immigrant message.Finland's Supreme Court did not grant leave to appeal in the case, so the decision became legally binding."With the Court of Appeal's decision, it has been determined that waving a swastika flag can also be problematic from a criminal law perspective. Future case law will certainly be reflected by this decision," said Tatu Hyttinen, Assistant Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Turku.