IN a narrow decision, the Finnish Supreme Court has found parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen guilty of ‘hate speech’ on one charge relating to the expression of her beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics in a 20-year-old church pamphlet.
Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola have been criminally convicted of ‘making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group’ after publishing the pamphlet in 2004 for her church.
The Supreme Court unanimously acquitted Räsänen for tweeting a Bible verse in 2019 which was alleged to have also been hateful and she was previously unanimously acquitted on all charges by two lower courts.
The long-serving parliamentarian and former Minister of the Interior was convicted by three out of five judges, however, for ‘hate speech’ under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity’ after prosecutors appealed for a third time.
She said: ‘I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognise 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.’
The court found Räsänen and the bishop guilty for having ’made available to the public and kept available to the public opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation’.
The ruling said that ‘it must be taken into account that the text forming the basis for the conviction did not contain incitement to violence or comparable threat-like fomenting of hatred’.
It said: ‘The conduct is therefore not particularly serious in terms of the nature of the offence.’
The Supreme Court has imposed criminal fines of several thousand euros and ruled that the impugned statements must be ’removed from public access and destroyed’.
The high-profile trial received significant global attention, particularly after the prosecution attacked core Christian teachings and cross-examined Räsänen and the bishop on their theology.
Before the hearing, the Finnish State prosecutor, Anu Mantila, said: ‘You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal.’
Coordinated by ADF International, Räsänen’s legal defence highlighted the strong protection that freedom of speech enjoys in international law, in addition to being integral to Finnish democracy.
Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, said: ‘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.’
