Criminal proceedings launched in Finland against politician over LGBT issue

Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen. Photo: yle.fi

Finland’s former interior minister and current member of parliament, Päivi Räsänen, has been charged with “incitement to hatred” over her criticism of LGBT issues, according to Christian Today.

Finland’s Prosecutor General formally brought charges against Räsänen over statements she made in a 2004 pamphlet, during a 2018 television appearance, and in a recent tweet in which she expressed a traditional view of marriage and sexuality. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison.

The 61-year-old politician was first questioned by police in 2019 after she criticized the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, of which she is a member, for officially supporting an LGBT Pride event.

Following the charges, Räsänen said she would not stop expressing her views publicly and would not accept the accusations.

“I cannot accept that voicing my religious beliefs could mean imprisonment. I do not consider myself guilty of threatening, slandering or insulting anyone. I hold on to the view that my expressions are legal and they should not be censored. I will not back down from my views. I will not be intimidated into hiding my faith,” she said.

“My statements were all based on the Bible’s teaching on marriage and sexuality. I will defend my right to confess my faith, so that no one else would be deprived of their right to freedom of religion and speech. The more Christians keep silent on controversial themes, the narrower the space for freedom of speech gets,” Räsänen added.

The criminal case against Räsänen has sparked strong reactions in Finnish society, with both supporters and critics.

According to Anu Mantila, a prosecutor with Finland’s National Prosecution Authority, the charges are justified as they are aimed to protect the dignity of homosexuals. The MP’s view that, according to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin constitutes “discriminatory hate speech” and is punishable under Finhish law.

Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, said the Prosecutor General’s decision would have a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.

“Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of democracy. The Finnish Prosecutor General's decision to bring these charges against Dr Räsänen creates a culture of fear and censorship,” Coleman said.

“It is sobering that such cases are becoming all too common throughout Europe. If committed civil servants like Päivi Räsänen are criminally charged for voicing their deeply held beliefs, it creates a chilling effect for everyone's right to speak freely,” he added.

As the UOJ previously reported, in the UK, a chaplain who spoke out against LGBT issues was dismissed from his position.

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