Finland's First Somali MP Reportedly Sent Hangman's Noose in 'Severe Racist Harassment'

According to the Left Alliance, which Mogadishu-born Suldaan Said Ahmed represents, the case is only the tip of the iceberg as more and more members of parliament receive threatening messages.

Left Alliance MP Suldaan Said Ahmed has been subjected to severe racist harassment and intimidation, his party said in a press release.

The MP reportedly received a piece of rope tied to resemble a hangman's noose accompanied by a note with a "very disturbing, racist message".

"This appalling act is only indicative of the racist comments and abuse I have received while participating in politics", Said Ahmed said in a statement.

"What the sender wants to say is that I don't belong here. Every non-white Finn recognises these attempts to suppress and exclude us. I want to tell these racists that we are part of Finnish society whether you like it or not", Said Ahmed told the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet.

The Finnish police have been made aware of the incident, according to the Left Alliance, currently part of the ruling coalition.

Said Ahmed said he was initially unsure whether to make the case public as that would bring the perpetrator the attention they must have aimed for.

According to the Left Alliance's parliamentary group, the case is only the tip of the iceberg as more and more members of parliament receive threatening messages.

"I thought it was important to show the public that this is what it's like. This is what people in Finland still have to endure in the 2020s", the Helsinki MP said, vowing to work to ensure that no child has to face this in the future.

The Mogadishu-born 28-year-old Suldaan Said Ahmed is a Finnish civic activist and politician, formerly a Helsinki City Councillor and currently an MP. Nicknamed the "Black Lion" on social media, he is also Finland's first person with a refugee background to be elected to a party council presidency.

Said Ahmed is known for maintaining that the Left Alliance cannot defend the interests of the working class without socialism. At the same time, he's described himself as a pro-business left-winger, while simultaneously being in favour of a basic income.

The hangman's noose harkens back to the times of slavery and Jim Crow laws in the US, and is seen as a symbol of hate and intimidation directed primarily at black people.