Finland’s Supreme Court is preparing to hold an oral hearing in the high-profile free speech case of former Interior Minister and Christian Democrat MP Päivi Räsänen, likely to take place in late summer 2025.
The case centres on the legal boundaries of expressing religious views on sexuality and marriage.
The legal process began in June 2019, when Räsänen posted a tweet directed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, questioning its decision to endorse a Helsinki Pride event.
The tweet included a photograph of a New Testament passage concerning sexual ethics.
She later faced charges over this post as well as a pamphlet she authored in 2004 titled “Male and Female He Created Them,” which outlines a Christian view of gender and sexuality.
Räsänen has consistently defended her remarks as grounded in biblical teaching and protected by the right to free expression.
In a statement released on June 27, Räsänen described the upcoming Supreme Court hearing as pivotal: “The core of this case is whether it is still allowed to openly hold biblical teachings in Finland. I hold it to be a privilege and an honour to defend freedom of speech, which is a fundamental right in a democratic state.”
Speaking to Brussels Signal, Räsänen said she believes her trial is part of a broader European trend: “My case is really a part of a broader and, in fact, growing trend in Europe, where expressing certain beliefs, especially those rooted in Christian teaching, is increasingly being labeled as hate speech.”
Räsänen also reflected on the personal and political shock of being prosecuted over citing scripture: “I never could imagine that a tweet in a democratic country with a long tradition of freedom of religion and expression would lead to a criminal investigation, police interrogations, and multiple court hearings,” she said.
“It felt surreal to sit in a police station and be questioned about my faith, my beliefs, and theological concepts. At one point, a police officer asked me what the message of the book of Romans is. Just a few years earlier, I was serving as Minister of the Interior, in charge of the police.”
Both the Helsinki District Court and the Court of Appeal previously acquitted Räsänen of all charges, stating her statements did not meet the legal threshold for incitement to hatred or defamation.
The District Court in 2022 and the Court of Appeal in 2023 each concluded that her speech was protected under Finnish and international law.
Despite these rulings, the case has now reached Finland’s highest court. A decision to proceed with an oral hearing would indicate the Supreme Court’s recognition of its national, and potentially pan-European, legal significance.
Communist senators Ian Brossat and Pierre Ouzoulias are calling on the French government to put a stop to what they describe as “fundamentalist” Christian protests following a street prayer organised by Catholics in Paris. https://t.co/2e0BRwuJRL
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 11, 2024
