A Christian politician in Finland has been convicted of “hate speech” for expressing her views on sexual ethics in a pamphlet she published for her church in 2004.
In the Finnish Supreme Court’s narrow 3-2 decision, Päivi Räsänen was found guilty of publicly making and keeping available “opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation”. This offence is listed under a chapter of criminal code entitled “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
But the Court unanimously vindicated her for sharing similar views in a 2019 tweet. Two lower courts have previously acquitted her on all charges, and she hopes to appeal her conviction at the European Court of Human Rights.
Thousands of euros
The Court ordered a fine of several thousand euros and ruled that the church pamphlet, which she shared online in 2019 and 2020, must be “removed from public access and destroyed”. Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola was also convicted for his involvement with the booklet.
But it was acknowledged that because the “text forming the basis for the conviction did not contain incitement to violence or comparable threat-like fomenting of hatred”, their conduct was therefore deemed “not particularly serious in terms of the nature of the offence”.
In response to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland’s decision to sponsor a local LGBT pride event in 2019, Räsänen posted a tweet of her Bible open at Romans 1:24-27. The Court determined that this failed to meet the offence of incitement because she “justified her opinion by citing a biblical text”.
‘State censorship’
Following the judgment, Räsänen stated: “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.”
“I am taking legal advice on a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. This is not about my free speech alone, but that of every person in Finland. A positive ruling would help to prevent other innocent people from experiencing the same ordeal for simply sharing their beliefs”.
Paul Coleman, Executive Director of religious liberty group Alliance Defending Freedom International, which is supporting the case, added: “Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy. It is right that the Court has acquitted Päivi Räsänen for her 2019 Bible verse tweet.
“However, the conviction for a simple church pamphlet published decades ago – before the law under which she has been convicted was even passed – is an outrageous example of state censorship. This decision will create a severe chilling effect for everyone’s right to speak freely”.
Legal battle
In 2021, the Finnish politician was initially charged over a pamphlet, tweet and radio debate.
Despite her earlier vindications, the prosecution has appealed the case three times. The Supreme Court, which heard the case last October, has now ruled on both the tweet and the booklet. Räsänen will remain acquitted of the radio debate, since that was not appealed.
Christian photographer awarded $800k after refusing to promote same-sex weddings