Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen has been found guilty of “hate speech” by the country’s Supreme Court over a two-decade-old church pamphlet about marriage and sexual ethics.
The court convicted the former interior minister, along with Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola, of “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group." The pamphlet was authored by Räsänen in 2004, seven years before the law was introduced.
Räsänen was acquitted over a 2019 tweet quoting a Bible verse, posted in response to her church sponsoring a Pride event.
Prosecutors appealed the case three times after lower courts ruled in Räsänen’s favor. She is now considering whether to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
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.”
Robert Clarke, director of advocacy at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), told Premier Christian News that it was a “sad day for free speech."
“What she was charged with is pretty serious. It comes under the section of the Finnish penal code on war crimes. This is a law that was never intended to be used to prosecute a member of parliament for something they wrote for their church 20 years ago, and yet, that's how it's been used," he said.
“It's followed her around for seven years. It's taken her time and attention away from her work in parliament, away from her family, and away from her grandkids.
“If it can happen to her, then I don't think it's alarmist to say it really could happen to anyone."
In a 3-2 decision, the court said the pamphlet expressed opinions “that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation”, although there was no hatred or incitement to violence.
Investigators uncovered the text while examining a complaint about the tweet, with it linked to Räsänen’s website. Judges said the text should be “removed from public access and destroyed." ADF likened that decision to “a chilling step toward state-ordered book burning."
The 2019 tweet was unanimously found not to have been offensive, as the politician “justified her opinion by citing a biblical text."
Criminal convictions for Räsänen and Bishop Juhana carry fines of several thousand euros.
Räsänen has been a member of the Finnish Parliament since 1995, leading the Christian Democrats between 2004 and 2015. Before entering politics, she was a doctor.
The case has been dubbed “a modern-day heresy trial” by ADF after prosecutors cross-examined Bishop Juhana and Räsänen on their theology, claiming their interpretation of Bible verses was “criminal."