Nearly two years after a Finnish Court of Appeals acquitted Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen of hate speech charges for quoting the Bible in a Twitter post, the Supreme Court has upheld the decision, but found her guilty of possessing a 20-year-old pamphlet about marriage and biblical sexual ethics.
In 2019, Räsänen questioned the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s participation in a Helsinki Pride event, posting a picture of Romans 1:24-27 (“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts…”).
Following complaints to the police, she was investigated and charged with a hate crime. According to Christian Today:
Räsänen was charged with “agitation against a minority group” under the section of the Finnish criminal code that deals with “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. The charges related to the tweet, to her comments in a radio debate, and to a church pamphlet published in 2004. The co-publisher of the pamphlet, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, was also charged.
Prosecutors zeroed in on her use of the word “sin,” which they decried as hateful and demeaning.
Despite being exonerated in two trials in 2022 and 2023, prosecutors continued their pursuit, aiming to impose jail time and fines of tens of thousands of euros.
While she was acquitted of hate speech for the tweet, she was found guilty of another crime. PCN explains:
“In a 3-2 decision, the court deemed the pamphlet displayed opinions “that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation”, although there was no hatred or incitement to violence.
Investigators unearthed the text while investigating a complaint about the tweet, with it linked to Räsänen’s website. Judges said the text should be “removed from public access and destroyed”
Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola was also convicted for “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group”
Reacting to the verdict, Räsänen said: “I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression. I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith, and will continue to defend my and every person’s right to share their convictions in the public square.”
