Free Speech On Trial: Päivi Räsänen

Finland’s Supreme Court has acquitted parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen on a charge stemming from her 2019 Bible verse tweet but convicted her and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola in a 3-2 decision for a 2004 church pamphlet.

The court unanimously upheld Räsänen’s acquittal for the tweet, in which she questioned her church’s sponsorship of a Pride event and cited Scripture. It ruled that the tweet did not constitute incitement because she “justified her opinion by citing a biblical text.”

On the separate charge, the Supreme Court found both Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola guilty of “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group” under a section of Finland’s criminal code on war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The conviction relates to the pamphlet, which expressed traditional Christian views on marriage and sexual ethics. The court noted the text contained no incitement to violence or threat-like hatred and described the conduct as “not particularly serious.”Räsänen, a long-serving MP, former interior minister, medical doctor, and grandmother of twelve, authored the pamphlet in 2004 for her church. She continued sharing it online in 2019 and 2020 after a preliminary investigation began. She had been unanimously acquitted on all charges by two lower courts.

The Supreme Court imposed criminal fines of several thousand euros and ordered the statements removed from public access and destroyed. The radio debate charge was not appealed and her acquittal there stands.Räsänen stated:

“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.”

She is considering an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, supported by ADF International.