Päivi Räsänen (Photo: Getty/iStock)
A verdict is expected to be handed down today in the long-running case against Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop, Juhana Pohjola.
Both were charged with “hate speech” after publicly expressing biblical views about marriage and sexuality in a pamphlet they co-published in 2004.
The charges against Mrs Räsänen, a former Minister of the Interior and boss of the Finnish police, also related to expression of these views in a tweet and comments she made during a live radio debate in 2019.
In the tweet, she had criticised her denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, for sponsoring a Pride event in Helsinki, and shared an image of a Bible verse from Romans chapter 1, which states, “The men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
She was charged with “agitation against a minority group” in 2021 under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. Bishop Pohjola was charged in connection with publishing Räsänen’s 2004 pamphlet.
Mrs Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola were both later cleared by the District Court of Helsinki and the Court of Appeal but the state prosecution appealed to the Finnish Supreme Court, which heard the case last October.
Paul Coleman, director of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has coordinated their legal defence, said the verdict “will be pivotal for free speech in Finland and across Europe”.
“At stake is the fundamental right of every individual to express deeply held beliefs without fear of criminal sanction,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the court will uphold the rule of law and confirm that peaceful expression, including the sharing of religious views, remains protected in a free and democratic society.”
If found guilty, Mrs Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola face a fine of 10,000 euros each and the censorship of their comments. Thursday’s decision of the Finnish Supreme Court is final.
Speaking after last October’s hearing, Mr Coleman said that the stakes in the case are “extremely high”, warning that a guilty verdict would “set a new low for freedom of expression in Europe and specifically for Christians”, while also opening the door for the criminalisation of many other people in Finland who have expressed similar views publicly.
If, however, the Supreme Court upholds the previous not guilty verdicts of the lower courts, it will “set a very strong precedent in Finland … and strengthen the legal standard whether [people] agree with Päivi or not”.
Kristen Waggoner, president of ADF International, said “a 6-year prosecution for tweeting a Bible verse should never have happened at all”.
“We can no longer take liberty for granted in the West,” she said.
