A Finnish court dismissed all charges against parliament member Päivi Räsänen after she was accused of hate speech for tweeting a Bible verse, according to a press release.
Räsänen was charged in 2021 with “agitation against a minority group,” which falls under the “war crimes and crimes against humanity” section in the Finnish criminal code. The Helsinki Court of Appeal found Räsänen not guilty Tuesday, affirming the ruling of a district court that acquitted her in March 2022, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The charges against Räsänen stemmed from a 2019 tweet sharing a Bible verse and questioning her church’s sponsorship of a pride parade, along with statements sharing her beliefs on a 2019 radio show and a 2004 pamphlet she published, titled “Male & Female He Created Them.” The publisher of the pamphlet, Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola, was tried alongside Räsänen.
“At the heart of the prosecutor’s examination of Räsänen was this: would she recant her beliefs?” Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International and part of Räsänen’s legal team said in a statement. “The answer was no – she would not deny the teachings of her faith. The cross-examination bore all the resemblance of a ‘heresy’ trial of the middle ages; it was implied that Räsänen had ‘blasphemed’ against the dominant orthodoxies of the day.”
ADF President Kristen Waggoner tweeted that Räsänen’s victory “should resonate globally.”
“Free speech isn’t just an American political liberty,” Waggoner tweeted. “It’s a human right. What happened to Päivi should not happen in any free society. We are grateful for this victory.”
Räsänen said she is “deeply relieved” by the court’s ruling.
“It isn’t a crime to tweet a Bible verse, or to engage in public discourse with a Christian perspective,” Räsänen said in a statement. “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.”
Prosecutors have the option to appeal to the Finnish Supreme Court by Jan. 15, 2024, according to the press release.
All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Jack Smith, Fani Willis forced to defend Trump prosecutions in simultaneous testimonies - December 18, 2025
- Exclusive: Biden State Dept. appeared to ignore emails from would-be Trump assassin - December 16, 2025
- Trump DOJ seeks to block officials from testifying in Judge Boasberg probe - December 12, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
