Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish politician and former Minister of the Interior charged by authorities for publicly expressing her beliefs on Biblical marriage and sexuality, is headed to Finland’s Supreme Court for an Oct. 30 hearing.

A professing Christian, grandmother of 12 and a member of the Finnish parliament since 1995, Räsänen was first investigated and interrogated by police in 2019 for challenging her church denomination’s participation in a Helsinki Pride event. In response, she posted the Scripture passage Romans 1:24-27 on X. It took two more years, but in 2021 she was criminally charged for the post, as well as for a 2019 radio debate and a church pamphlet she published in 2004 called Male and Female He Created Them.

Räsänen’s allegedly criminal content centered on Biblical marriage and sexuality. She was charged for “agitation against a minority group” under the section “war crimes and crimes against humanity” of the Finnish criminal code.

In April 2022, the Helsinki District Court ruled her statements to be protected speech. The court also ruled in favor of Lutheran Bishop Pohjola, who had published the 2004 pamphlet. However, the prosecutor appealed, bringing the case to the Helsinki Court of Appeal in November 2023, which also acquitted her of those charges. The prosecutor then appealed to Finland’s Supreme Court, which agreed to take the case.

“It is shocking that after two unanimous acquittals, Päivi Räsänen is again being dragged to court to defend her fundamental right to freedom of speech,” Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, which is representing Räsänen, said in a press release. “As we have warned for years, vaguely worded ‘hate speech’ laws allow ideological prosecutions like this to take place. We stand behind Päivi and we will continue to work toward the bigger victory when such ludicrous cases are no longer brought. In a free and democratic society, all should be allowed to share their beliefs without fear of punishment.”

“It isn’t a crime to tweet a Bible verse, or to engage in public discourse from a Christian perspective,” Räsänen said. “The attempts to criminalize me for expressing my beliefs have resulted in an immensely trying last few years, but I still hope for a positive result that will stand as a key precedent to protect the human right to free speech in Finland.”

Photo: Courtesy of ADF International