The Supreme Court of Finland on Thursday (March 26) found a former government minister guilty of “hate speech” for her biblical views on marriage following two prior acquittals by lower courts.
In a 3-2 decision, the court ruled against Päivi Räsänen for expressing her beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics in a 20-year-old church pamphlet. The court also criminally convicted Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola for publishing the 2004 pamphlet, according to legal rights group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.
The court levied fines of several thousand euros on both Räsänen and Pohjola and ordered the removal and destruction of the impugned statements. Räsänen has been sentenced to a fine equivalent to 20 days’ wages (in her case, 1,800 euros) and she will also have to pay her own legal costs, according to Evangelical Focus. Pohjola was also given a 20-day fine, and his publishing house, Finnish Lutheran Foundation, must pay a fine of 5,000 euros.
The convictions were based on “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group,” the court ruled.
“I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression,” Räsänen said in a press statement. “I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith, and will continue to defend my and every person’s right to share their convictions in the public square.”
Räsänen, a former minister of the interior, originally faced criminal charges for sharing her views on marriage in a 2019 tweet on X, formerly Twitter. In its ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court on unanimously acquitted her for that specific post.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in April 2024 after the state prosecutor appealed two previous acquittals from the Helsinki District Court and the Court of Appeal. The high court heard arguments in October before issuing Thursday’s ruling.
The court applied a section of the Finnish criminal code titled “war crimes and crimes against humanity” to secure the convictions. While the court ruled on the 2019 tweet and the 2004 pamphlet, it did not address a third charge regarding a radio debate because the prosecution did not appeal that specific acquittal.
Räsänen, a grandmother of 12, now plans to seek legal advice regarding a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
“This is not about my free speech alone, but that of every person in Finland,” she said. “A positive ruling would help to prevent other innocent people from experiencing the same ordeal for simply sharing their beliefs.”
The court held that Räsänen and the bishop “made available to the public and kept available to the public opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation.”
While the court noted the text did not incite violence or “threat-like fomenting of hatred,” judges convicted Räsänen because she continued to share the 2004 article on her social media pages in 2019 and 2020 after police launched an investigation.
Regarding the 2019 tweet questioning her church’s sponsorship of a Pride event, the court found the post did not meet the criteria for incitement because she “justified her opinion by citing a biblical text.”
ADF International quoted Finnish State Prosecutor Anu Mantila, who argued that the law allows Bible citations but criminalizes Räsänen’s specific interpretations.
“Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy,” said Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International. “However, the conviction for a simple church pamphlet published decades ago – before the law under which she has been convicted was even passed – is an outrageous example of state censorship.”
The ruling is a stark reminder that no democracy is immune from the erosion of fundamental freedoms, said Kristen Waggoner, chief executive officer, president and chief counsel of ADF International.
“Punishing peaceful expression, especially when it is based on deeply held religious convictions, undermines the very foundation of free societies,” Waggoner said.
