A Christian politician in Finland may be forced to appear before the country’s top court, despite twice being vindicated over allegations of “hate speech” for sharing the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality.
In November, judges in Helsinki found “no reason” to overturn an earlier ruling that upheld Dr Päivi Räsänen’s right to free speech. But the Finnish state prosecutor will now appeal the second unanimous ruling to the Supreme Court, demanding censorship of her publications and tens of thousands of euros in fines.
Legal proceedings began in 2019, when Finland’s Prosecutor General claimed Dr Räsänen’s statements upholding biblical sexual ethics were derogatory, discriminatory, and may have violated the dignity of homosexual people.
Unafraid
Dr Räsänen declared: “After my full exoneration in two courts, I’m not afraid of a hearing before the Supreme Court. Even though I am fully aware that every trial carries risks, an acquittal from the Supreme Court would set an even stronger positive precedent for everyone’s right to free speech and religion.
“And if the court decided to overturn the lower courts’ acquittals, I am ready to defend freedom of speech and religion as far as the European Court of Human rights, if necessary.”
I’m not afraid
The Christian Institute’s Ciarán Kelly spoke to Dr Räsänen in November 2023 after she was cleared by the Court of Appeal.
Process as punishment
Paul Coleman, Executive Director of Alliance Defending Freedom International, which is supporting her case, said: “The state’s insistence on continuing this prosecution despite such a clear and unanimous ruling by both the Helsinki District Court and Court of Appeal is alarming.
“Dragging people through the courts for years, subjecting them to hour-long police interrogations, and wasting taxpayer money to police people’s deeply held beliefs has no place in a democratic society.
“As is so often the case in ‘hate speech’ trials, the process has become the punishment.”
Bible
In 2019, the politician shared a picture of her Bible open at Romans 1:24-27 in response to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland’s decision to sponsor a local LGBT pride event.
She wrote: “How can the church’s doctrinal foundation, the Bible, be compatible with the lifting up of shame and sin as a subject of pride?”
Dr Räsänen was placed under investigation for the comments the same year, but a formal prosecution was not made until April 2021.
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