One acquittal, one conviction. . .

Finland’s Supreme Court has acquitted Päivi Räsänen for her 2019 Bible verse tweet but Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola were found guilty in 3-2 decision for expressing their beliefs in a decades old church pamphlet  It was a narrow 3–2 decision, but the Finnish Supreme Court has agreed that disagreeing with the sacred tenets of gay marriage and LGBTQ+ rights is a criminal act guilty of hate speech. So after twenty years of legal wrangling, Räsänen has been criminally convicted for publishing the 2004 pamphlet for her church, along with Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola. The conviction is for “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group”. The Supreme Court unanimously acquitted Räsänen for her 2019 Bible verse tweet.  Räsänen was previously unanimously acquitted on all charges by two lower courts. 

The long serving parliamentarian and former Minister of the Interior has been convicted for “hate speech” under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. The medical doctor and grandmother of twelve was tried in early 2022 and again in 2023 for expressing her beliefs in a 2019 tweet, which included a Bible verse, in addition to a 2019 radio debate and 2004 church booklet.  

After the prosecutor appealed for the second time, the Supreme Court, which heard the case in October 2025, has now ruled on two of the three original charges: concerning the tweet and the church booklet. The Supreme Court was not asked to rule on the radio debate as the prosecution did not appeal it, so Räsänen’s acquittal for the debate stands. 

“I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression. 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.” stated Päivi Räsänen after receiving the judgment.

“I am taking legal advice on 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. A positive ruling would help to prevent other innocent people from experiencing the same ordeal for simply sharing their beliefs,” added Räsänen.  

This is one profound example of how far the so called Christian Europe has deviated from its roots and how orthodox Christianity has become that speech which is no longer tolerated.  So much for freedom.