The Christian Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen has been granted a UK visa, following her appeal to the Home Secretary. However, the visa came too late for her to speak in person about free speech at a conference in Northern Ireland last week.
Räsänen was informed at 6.45pm on Friday that her visa application had been successful, and at 7.30pm she spoke remotely at the event, where she mentioned she had been blocked from attending in person due to her ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) being cancelled in July.
ADF International (ADF) claimed the decsion to block the 66 year old's permission to travel to the UK was "most likely due to her 'hate speech' conviction in Finland" for expressing her traditional views on marriage and sexuality in a church booklet in 2004.
In March, Finland’s Supreme Court convicted Rasanen, along with Bishop Juahana Pohjola and the Luther Foundation Finland, for publishing the booklet, which sparked expressions of concern from around the world and came after over six years of criminal prosecution. The convictions followed unanimous acquittals in two lower court trials. All three are appealing their convictions to the European Court of Human Rights.
After being invited to speak at the conference, Rasanen applied for a UK visa. She wrote personally in July to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood asking to be allowed into the UK.
ADF said that when she made the visa application, she'd been told by authorities that the application would be processed in three weeks. But it took more than four weeks for her visa to be granted, despite the fact that in the application she clearly stated the dates of both the event she planned to attend and her scheduled flights.
Räsänen commented: “I never should have been blocked from attending this week’s religious freedom event in person.
“But I am glad that my visa application has been approved, and that I am now free to enter the UK in the future, if the opportunity presents itself, to speak about free speech and my faith.”
Posting on X, ADF said: "It is shocking that this happened and that she was convicted in Finland, because she peacefully expressed her views on marriage and human sexuality in a church booklet written over two decades ago. This is a clear sign of Europe’s deeply entrenched censorship crisis".
Räsänen is a former Finnish Interior Minister who currently serves on Finland's Foreign Affairs Committee and the country's delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Last week, the Home Office told Premier Christian News it does not routinely comment on individual cases. However, its rules state: "It is standard practice to refuse or cancel an ETA if someone has declared a criminal conviction in the last 12 months or they receive a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more. All individuals seeking entry to the UK must meet the requirements of the immigration rules. Individuals who do not hold a valid ETA may choose to apply for a visa if they wish to travel to the UK."