The Päivi Räsänen Ruling is a Terrible Violation of Free Speech

The seven-year legal saga of former Finnish Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen continued Thursday as the Finnish Supreme Court found her guilty of “hate speech” for authoring a pamphlet in 2004 in which she expressed her Christian views regarding marriage and sexuality. Experts roundly condemned the ruling as an egregious violation of free speech and freedom of religion by a Western country.

In a tight 3-2 decision, the court held that Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola were guilty of 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” regarding a pamphlet that was written by Räsänen in 2004 and published by Pohjola. At the same time, the court admitted that “the text forming the basis for the conviction did not contain incitement to violence or comparable threat-like fomenting of hatred. The conduct is therefore not particularly serious in terms of the nature of the offense.”

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The protracted legal battle began in 2019 when Räsänen wrote a social media post questioning why her Finnish Lutheran Church was choosing to participate in LGBT pride events, citing Romans 1:24-27. Authorities eventually charged her with three counts of “hate speech” for sharing Bible passages and charged her and Pohjola for writing and publishing the 2004 pamphlet “Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relations Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity.”

However, two lower courts unanimously acquitted Räsänen and Pohjola of the “hate speech” charge in 2023. That year, the Helsinki District Court ruled that Räsänen and Pohjola’s freedom of speech rights were violated, stating that “It is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts.”

After Räsänen was initially charged in 2019, she described how local police interrogated her for hours in what amounted to a modern-day heresy trial, in which she was forced to read the Bible and describe to officers her interpretation of scripture passages. “I was sitting in a police station. I had the Bible on the table, and the police was asking what I meant by the words sin and shame,” she recalled. Still, she highlighted how “this whole process, this litigation, has given so many chances to testify about Jesus,” including “in a live broadcast straight to Finnish homes.”

Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling came after prosecutors appealed the 2023 rulings. It convicted her of one “hate speech” charge for the pamphlet but acquitted her of the 2019 Bible verse social media post. Räsänen was charged with a criminal fine of several thousand Euros, and the court ordered that her pamphlet must be “removed from public access and destroyed.”

“I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression,” Räsänen stated following the judgment. “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.” She went on to share that she will consider appealing the decision. “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 ruling came despite the vocal support of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jordan Peterson, and numerous other international figures and lawmakers. Many expressed alarm that a Western nation such as Finland would criminalize the expression of sincerely held religious beliefs.

“A new dark age is descending upon Europe as governments restrict the truth because it is seen as offensive by some,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins stated in a social media post following the court ruling. “When truth is labeled as harm and conviction is treated as a crime, freedom doesn’t vanish in a moment; it fades into the darkness, one silenced voice at a time. And if the West, the U.S. in particular, fails to recognize it, we will not just observe it — we will inherit it.”

Alliance Defending Freedom President and CEO Kristen Waggoner concurred. “This ruling is a stark reminder that no democracy is immune from the erosion of fundamental freedoms. Punishing peaceful expression, especially when it is based on deeply held religious convictions, undermines the very foundation of free societies.”

Arielle Del Turco, who serves as director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, also expressed alarm at the conviction. “When a politician can be convicted by the Supreme Court for expressing her biblical beliefs about marriage in a pamphlet published more than 20 years ago, how is any Christian in Finland supposed to feel comfortable expressing their own biblically-informed beliefs?” she told The Washington Stand. “This is meant to intimidate and silence Christians and anyone else who would disagree with established progressive cultural values.”

“It’s truly a dark day for freedom of expression and religious freedom in Europe,” Del Turco added. “I hope and pray that Päivi will ultimately receive justice, and that this unjust precedent in Finland is quickly overturned so that basic human rights will be clearly protected for the Finnish people.”

Lawmakers like Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) urged the Trump administration to “call out Finland” over Räsänen’s conviction and encouraged believers to pray for her.

“[T]his woman deserves our prayers,” he emphasized during “Washington Watch” Thursday. “She deserves our support. She deserves the backing of this country. Finland deserves round condemnation, and we’ve got to be very vocal about this. You know, she testified in front of the Judiciary Committee as a witness. She came to my office … and she could not be a more kind and faithful and devoted woman who is carrying out her faith in the face of persecution. God bless her for it.”

LifeNews Note: Dan Hart writes for the Family Research Council. He is the senior editor of The Washington Stand.

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