Päivi Räsänen, a Member of Parliament for the Finnish Christian Democrats party and a 63-year-old grandmother of ten, is due back in court later this month for her trial. The reason she got charged has stirred quite a bit of outrage among Christians and conservatives across Europe and the United States.
In June 2019, she publicly asked her church, the Lutheran Church of Finland, on Facebook
if it was appropriate for them to sponsor an LGBT pride parade. She attached an image displaying some Bible verses to her question.
The verses in question were Romans 1:24–27, which describe homosexuality as ‘sinful desires’ and ‘shameful acts’. As a result, a criminal investigation was launched against her in September 2019, which ultimately led to three charges, including ‘agitation against a minority group’. The two other counts were in relation to a pamphlet she had disseminated back in 2004, and statements she made in a radio interview in 2019. For his role as the chief editor of the aforementioned 2004 pamphlet, Bishop Juhana Pohjola also received criminal charges.
For those wondering, Finland does have a freedom of expression clause in their constitution.
Section 12 of the Finnish Constitution in force (as revised in 2011) states that ‘Everyone has the freedom of expression. Freedom of expression entails the right to express, disseminate and receive information, opinions and other communications without prior prevention by anyone.’ In accordance with that, the Helsinki District Court did deliver a unanimous acquittal in March 2022. As the majority opinion argued at the time, ‘it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts’.
However, as an article on The Federalists’ website points out, unlike US law, Finnish law allows the prosecution to appeal even after an acquittal, which is why MP Räsänen’s ordeal is not over just yet, and her trial is scheduled to start on 31 August.
The piece by The Federalists also brings up a letter 16 members of the US Congress sent to Rashad Hussain, US ambassador–at–large for international religious freedom, and Douglas Hickey, US Ambassador to Finland, urging them to speak up against the encroachment of free speech on Räsänen’s behalf. Still according to the article, the Biden administration acknowledged that it had raised concerns privately about the prosecution. However, they are yet to make any public statements. That is peculiar given, for instance,
how vocal US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman can be when objecting to certain domestic policies of the Orbán administration.
Thankfully, this does not mean that MP Räsänen is without meaningful international support. Her legal case is helped by ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom) International, a faith-based legal advocacy group headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The organisation is also running a fundraiser for her, which has amassed over €8,000 in donations for her defence as of now.
Päivi Räsänen is being put through this ordeal despite her remarkable career in government. She has been serving in the Parliament of Finland since 1995, and was the country’s Minister of Interior between 2011 and 2015. She can face up to two years in prison if convicted.
On 13 February 2022, a sympathy rally was held in Budapest in support of Räsänen. Some 3,000 people gathered in front of the Finnish Embassy demanding justice for the politician and respect for religious freedom. Räsänen thanked the demonstrators in a video message, stressing that she was grateful to those who stood up for her and who prayed for her, adding: ‘Together we also defend freedom of speech and expression and freedom of religion.’
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