Jussi Halla-aho, a Helsinki councillor who was fined last year for a breach of the freedom of worship, said in a statement Thursday he would stand as a True Finns candidate in next year's general election.

"The matter is made public at an early stage so that my own troops need not live under uncertainty and that reporters who are hysterically afraid of my candidacy do not have to ask Timo Soini about the matter on a daily basis," the statement added.

Timo Soini is the leader of the True Finns, a nationalist opposition party.

Last year, Mr Halla-aho drew a link between Islam and paedophilia in a blog entry. A court subsequently found him guilty of a violation of the freedom of worship.

STT