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Finland: Christian politician faces third ‘hate speech’ trial in three years

Finland: Christian politician faces third ‘hate speech’ trial in three years
Päivi Räsänen | ADF International
ET staff writer
ET staff writer
21 May, 2024 2 min read

The Supreme Court of Finland has confirmed that former government minister Päivi Räsänen will stand trial a third time for her 2019 Bible-verse tweet and a 2004 church pamphlet.

Finland: MP investigated by police for quoting the Bible
Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen, a member of the Christian Democrats party and a former Minister of the Interior, has been investigated by the police for quoting the Bible on Facebook. She criticised her own Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for endorsing events linked to Helsinki Pride 2019. Räsänen is a pro-life advocate and doctor by training. She contends that the church is going against biblical principles. In a Facebook post she quoted the Bible, referencing Romans 1:24-27. A crimina

Despite the Christian grandmother of eleven being acquitted unanimously of ‘hate speech’ charges before both the Helsinki District Court and the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal brought by the prosecution, on a date still to be set.

As reported by ET, Räsänen, who previously served as Finland’s Minister of the Interior, has said she would be prepared to take her case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

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