Freedom of Expression and Belief Triumphs Over Censorship: Päivi Räsänen Acquitted

After more than four years, on 14 November, the Helsinki Court of Appeal ruled that all the charges of hate speech against Finnish Member of Parliament, former Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen wouold be dismissed.

In a press release issued after the ruling, Räsänen wrote that she’s ‘relieved, happy and grateful to God and to all those who have supported me through this stage of my life. The decision was in line with my expectations—I never doubted for a moment that I had committed any offence in my writings and statements.’ She added: ‘The Court’s ruling is an important step forward for the freedom of religion of Bible-believing Christians, but also for freedom of expression more broadly and in general. I have considered it a privilege and an honour to defend freedom of expression, which is an absolutely fundamental right in a democratic state.’ 

From Censorship to Victory of Freedom of Expression and Belief

The criminal investigation started in 2019 when Räsänen, an observant Christian, tweeted her reaction to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s support of a Pride event.

Her tweet did obviously not include anything even remotely resembling hate speech,

just a screenshot of the text of Bible verses 24-27 of Romans 1 of the New Testament. As the verses quoted clearly state that homosexuality is against God’s will, she posed the question of how the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland can reconcile its decision with the teachings of the Bible. As the Finnish MP phrased it in the press release, the target of her criticism was not a sexual minority but the leadership of her religious denomination.