Finland police release man held in fatal knife rampage

Seen on a court video link screen, Moroccan man Abderrahman Mechkah, lays in a hospital bed during the initial remand hearing, on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and terrorism crimes, at court in Turku, Finland, on Aug 22, 2017. (File photo by Lehtikuva via AP)

COPENHAGEN: Finnish police say they have released a man in connection with the Aug. 18 stabbing attack in the western city of Turku that left two people dead and eight injured.
The National Bureau of Investigation said Saturday the man who was arrested Wednesday together with another suspect “is no longer suspected of any crime.”
Abderrahman Mechkah, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum-seeker, is suspected of the rampage which police say deliberately targeted women and is currently being investigated as murder with possible terrorist intent.
Mechkah has acknowledged the stabbings, but denies the deaths they caused were murders. Police in Finland say they think he is using a false identity.
Three others are being held on suspicion they helped plan the attack.