The Supreme Court of Finland will take up a case involving a Christian lawmaker who is being accused of hate speech for sharing her biblical belief on what the Bible teaches on homosexuality.
In 2019, Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen, 62, posted a tweet of Romans 1:24-27 which states:
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way 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.”
As a result of her tweet, Räsänen has been faced with “tens of thousands of Euros in fines” and censorship of a pamphlet she wrote in 2004 that talks about the biblical principles of marriage.
Räsänen was acquitted of hate speech crimes in 2022, but Finnish law allows porsecutors to appeal verdicts.
Christian Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen is on trial before Finland's Supreme Court for a five-year-old Bible verse tweet that criticized the Finnish Lutheran Church for promoting gay "pride month."
She faces “tens of thousands of Euros in fines” and potential jail time for… pic.twitter.com/0TPaKPewIz
— AF Post (@AFpost) April 24, 2024
The Washinton Times had more on the story:
The Supreme Court of Finland will hear arguments in the case of an evangelical lawmaker and a Lutheran bishop who are accused of hate speech in expressing their biblical views on homosexuality, defense attorneys said.
The high court trial will be the third in which Päivi Räsänen, a former interior minister, and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland have faced the charges. Finland’s top court granted a prosecutor’s request to review the acquittal of two evangelicals, and a trial date has not been scheduled.
Mrs. Räsänen has twice stood trial for her online post questioning the state church’s sponsorship of a 2019 LGBT “Pride” event accompanied by an image of Bible verses from the Book of Romans.
Bishop Pohjola again will be tried with her over the 2004 publication of a pamphlet Mrs. Räsänen wrote affirming the Bible’s teachings on marriage and sexuality.
The District Court of Helsinki in 2022 and the Helsinki Court of Appeal last year acquitted Mrs. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjol, but Finnish law allows a prosecutor to appeal verdicts.
Päivi Räsänen, a sitting member of the Finish Government, is being CRIMINALLY charged for tweeting a Bible verse back in 2019.
Make no mistake: this isn’t her on trial, this is Christianity on trial.
The process is the punishment. pic.twitter.com/SnrD84NG2K
— Myles Vosylius (@TheMylesV) April 23, 2024
Here’s what CBN reported:
Finland’s Supreme Court has announced it will take up a contentious case against a Christian politician who has faced a years-long legal battle for sharing her biblical views on sexuality.
Räsänen, a member of parliament and former interior secretary, responded to the news the Finnish Supreme Court will take up her case in a press release Friday by affirming she will “continue to fight for freedom of speech.”
“The Supreme Court has today announced that it will give the Prosecutor General the permission to appeal the unanimous acquittal of the Helsinki Court of Appeal concerning the charges about my statements,” she wrote.
Even if Räsänen loses at the Supreme Court, she said she is prepared to take the case outside of her country to affirm her rights, fighting back against the hate speech charges she has incessantly faced throughout her years-long struggle.
“I have, however, a peaceful mind and I am ready to continue to defend free speech and freedom of religion before the Supreme Court and, if need be, also before the European Court of Human Rights,” Räsänen said.
While Räsänen’s case originally carried a risk of jail time upon conviction, ADF International said earlier this year the prosecution wants “tens of thousands of Euros in fines” and censorship of a decades-old pamphlet written by Räsänen on the topic of biblical marriage.
Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen, who has already been tried and unanimously acquitted by two courts for expressing her Christian beliefs has had her 'hate speech' case appealed to the country's Supreme Court by the state prosecutor. Process = punishment.https://t.co/pAx9Qxx7XO
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) April 23, 2024
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