The former minister won the case in the Helsinki District Court, but the prosecution appealed the decision.
Newsroom (April 26, 2022, 12:00 PM, Gaudium Press) The investigation began in June 2019, in a process that has been a real road of pain. Päivi Räsänen is a member of the Finnish Lutheran Church, and in a tweet, she criticized the support that this Christian denomination gave to the LGBT Pride 2019 event. The former minister and MP had quoted verses from the Bible, specifically from the Letter to the Romans.
Because of this tweet, they began to scrutinize her life, going to the extreme of also investigating a leaflet she had written for her Church, almost… 20 years ago.
Since the beginning of the investigation, the MP had to answer interrogations about her beliefs; the police also asked her to answer questions about her interpretation of the Bible, facts that would normally be considered obstacles to her right to freedom of conscience and religion.
In April of last year, the prosecution brought three charges against Rasanen. Of those three, two were charged after the police recommended that the case not be continued.
The former minister’s defense focused on the fact that her expressions were nothing more than a manifestation of Christian teachings.
Finally, on March 30, the Helsinki District Court rejected the charges, claiming that “it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts.” It also stated that “there must be a compelling social reason to interfere with and restrict free speech,” and that in this case there was no such justification.
However, the Finnish judicial system allows for appeals against such a ruling all the way to the Supreme Court. Thus, the ordeal of the parliamentarian because of her Christian stance will continue. Everything indicates that, although the public prosecutor knows that he will finally lose the case, what they want is to punish the MP and anyone else who tries something similar, with the heavy burden of an endless trial.
Meanwhile, the former minister Räsänen, who claims to have suffered, remains firm in her defense: “This case has been weighing on me and my family for almost three years. After my full exoneration from the court, I am surprised that the prosecutor does not end this campaign of harassment against me. Once again, I am willing to stand up for freedom of religion and speech, not only for myself, but for all those who may be affected in the future. I thank all those who have supported me during this ordeal and ask them to continue to support me,” she said after learning of the decision.
Critics point out that Finnish prosecutor’s office is wasting public money, since the Helsinki Court has already ordered them to pay the court costs, which already amount to 60,000 euros.
With information from Zenit.
Compiled by Sarah Gangl
