Finnish appeals court dismisses 'hate speech' charges against politician for tweeting Bible verses

The Helsinki Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed all charges against both Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola stemming from their expressions of their Christian faith and views on marriage. The appellate court's vote was unanimous.

Räsänen, in 2004, expressed her views on marriage in a church pamphlet, which Pohjola published. In a 2019 radio debate and tweet in the same year, Räsänen further reiterated her views.

The pair were charged in 2021 with "agitation against a minority group" and unanimously acquitted in March of 2022. The appellate court on Monday upheld that decision and ordered that prosecutors cover both defendants' legal fees. Prosecutors may still appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Finland. The court also ordered the prosecutors to pay tens of thousands in legal fees to cover costs incurred by both defendants. The prosecution has until January 15, 2024 to file an appeal.

CNE, a European Christian news blog said that prosecutors are "seriously considering" appealing against the decision.

Alliance Defending Freedom International Executive Director Paul Coleman, who served on the defendants' legal team, excoriated prosecutors and likened the case to a medieval heresy trial.

"It isn’t a crime to tweet a Bible verse, or to engage in public discourse with a Christian perspective," Räsänen said. "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."

"At the heart of the prosecutor’s examination of Räsänen was this: would she recant her beliefs? The answer was no – she would not deny the teachings of her faith," Coleman said. "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."

The case had attracted international scrutiny for its potential free speech implications.

"While we celebrate this monumental victory, we also remember that it comes after four years of police investigations, criminal indictments, prosecutions, and court hearings," Coleman lamented. "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."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.