\Rome Newsroom, Nov 14, 2023 / 04:55 am (CNA).
A court of appeal dismissed all charges of “hate speech” and “ethnic agitation” against Finnish lawmaker Päivi Räsänen on Tuesday in what has been hailed as a victory for free speech.
The Finnish member of parliament had been charged in 2021 after publicly sharing in 2019 her biblical, religious views on marriage as between one man and one woman.
Though Räsänen, 63, was unanimously acquitted by a Finnish District Court in 2022, prosecutors appealed her acquittal to the Helsinki Court of Appeal. The former minister of the interior faced the possibility of tens of thousands of Euros in fines and two years in prison.
On Nov. 14, the Helsinki Court of Appeal unanimously ruled to uphold the 2022 acquittal, finding that it had “no reason, on the basis of the evidence received at the main hearing, to assess the case in any respect differently from the District Court. There is therefore no reason to alter the final result of the District Court’s judgment.”
The charges against a Finnish Lutheran bishop named Juhana Pohjola were also dismissed by the court of appeal on Nov. 14. Pohjola had also been tried for hate speech for publishing a pamphlet written by Räsänen in 2004 that advocated for the biblical understanding of sexuality and marriage.
“I am deeply relieved,” Räsänen said Nov. 14 via a statement from her legal representatives, the Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF). “The court has fully endorsed and upheld the decision of the district court, which recognized everyone’s right to free speech.”
“It isn’t a crime to tweet a Bible verse, or to engage in public discourse with a Christian perspective,” the mother of five and grandmother of 11 added. “The attempts made to prosecute me for expressing my beliefs have resulted in an immensely trying four years, but my hope is that the result will stand as a key precedent to protect the human right to free speech. I sincerely hope other innocent people will be spared the same ordeal for simply voicing their convictions.”
In the 2019 tweet that landed Räsänen in legal troubles, she criticized her denomination for embracing LGBTQ+ ideology, asking how these views could be reconciled with Scripture. In the tweet, she referenced Romans 1:24-27, which clearly states that homosexual activity is against God’s will.
Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International and a member of Räsänen’s legal team said: “While we celebrate this monumental victory, we also remember that it comes after four years of police investigations, criminal indictments, prosecutions, and court hearings.”
“So-called ‘hate-speech’ laws,” are a “grave threat to our democracies,” he argued.
“We applaud the Helsinki Court of Appeal’s ruling in this case, and we work towards the bigger victory when such ludicrous cases are no longer brought,” Coleman added. “In a free and democratic society, all should be allowed to share their beliefs without fear of censorship.”
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A bit of comic relief and more details from BREAKING: Paivi Rasanen Acquitted Over ‘Hate Speech’ for Sharing Bible Verse, by Ben Johnson, November 14, 2023.
Excerpt (links omitted):
Finnish citizens have expressed their weariness with the ongoing prosecutions. One Finnish teacher announced, “My wallet announced that I am no longer interested in paying for this circus.”
Although jubilant over the outcome, Christians say the prosecution exemplifies the phrase: “The process is the punishment.”
“While we celebrate this monumental victory, we also remember that it comes after four years of police investigations, criminal indictments, prosecutions, and court hearings,” said Coleman. Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, cited Räsänen as one of 99 incidents of anti-Christian persecution that have taken place in the West in three years.
“How long until American lawmakers are similarly prosecuted?” asked Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. Perkins and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) met with Finnish Ambassador Mikko Hautala last month.
Roy also warned that Räsänen’s trials could come to the United States during the debate over the so-called “Respect for Marriage” Act. “When you venture into hate crimes, you are now empowering the government to determine what is in your head, and now they’re going to prosecute you for thoughts … and in this case, your religious views,” said Roy. “That is something we have to stand athwart.” At the 2023 Pray Vote Stand Summit, Roy hailed the Finnish MP as “a hero” who “gives you hope. She gives you a belief that we can stand up and stand athwart that kind of tyranny.”
I am glad to see this outcome. Does anyone remember any kind of statement by Francis, weighing in on this issue of Traditional, i.e. “RATIONAL AND SANE”, Marriage in Finland? Funny, I don’t either.
Four years…and, likewise, the “circus” Synodale Weg sideshow now embedded in parts of synodality have gone on for only three years, but with one more year to go.
Yes, “the process is the punishment” and (with Marshall McLuhan) the process is the message.