Free Republic

A Finnish politician convicted under "hate speech" law has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights. The case marks the concluding legal chapter in a seven-year battle over freedom of expression in Europe. Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish MP found guilty of "insulting" a group by Finland's Supreme Court, received her conviction in March 2026 for views on marriage and sexual ethics she had set out in a booklet produced for her church more than two decades ago, in 2004. She was ordered to pay thousands of euros in fines. Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal organisation acting on...

Senior Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen is facing being hauled through the courts again over “homophobic” Tweets and writings going back 20 years, despite having been acquitted in the case twice already. The Finnish Public Prosecutor is appealing a November 2023 court decision that Päivi Räsänen, a long-serving member of Parliament, party leader, and former national interior minister was exercising free speech when she quoted the bible and discussed homosexuality on several occasions from 2004 to 2019. Räsänen is the former leader of the Finnish Christian Democrats Party and holds orthodox views on the issue, having described homosexuality as a “disorder...

A Christian politician from Finland has come under fire for sharing scripture on Facebook. Interview: Christian Politician Investigated for Posting Bible Verse Speaks Out, Says ‘We Must Obey God Rather Than Man’ Christian Democratic MP Päivi Räsänen called out the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for its participation in the Helsinki Pride events back in June, sharing a passage from Romans 1 to prove her point. “How can the church’s doctrinal foundation, the Bible, be compatible with the lifting up of shame and sin as a subject of pride?” the politician asked. As a result of this robust remark, Finnish...