Finland’s Paivi Rasanen to Appeal Supreme Court Ruling on Hate Speech

Paivi Rasanen, a member of the Finnish parliament, is contesting a recent Supreme Court ruling that found her guilty of hate speech related to an old pamphlet where she labeled homosexuality as a “developmental disorder.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom International, representing Rasanen, announced plans to escalate the case to the European Court of Human Rights. This decision follows last month’s closely contested 3-2 Supreme Court ruling.

“The Finnish Supreme Court’s decision not to uphold freedom of speech poses a troubling precedent not just for Finland but for all of Europe,” Rasanen commented. “I believe it’s essential to challenge this ruling to re-establish respect for everyone’s right to voice their opinions in public.”

Rasanen stressed that she’s not alone in facing unfair treatment under hate speech laws that criminalize the expression of Christian beliefs. She urged the European Court to affirm that peacefully sharing one’s beliefs should never be classified as a crime.

The pamphlet, originally published in 2004 and titled “Man and Woman He Created: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Understanding of Humanity,” argued that homosexuality could be viewed as a “negative developmental disorder.” Rasanen claimed the scientific data supports her viewpoint, asserting that those who categorize homosexuality as a natural state overlook critical evidence due to political motivations.

In 2021, Rasanen, along with Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola, faced formal charges of incitement against minorities due to the pamphlet. Her tweets from 2019, which criticized the church’s support of LGBTQ pride events while referencing a biblical passage, also contributed to the charges. However, both were acquitted by lower courts twice in 2022 and 2023, with the tweets being cleared again just last month.

Legal Counsel Lorcan Price from ADF International highlighted the significance of this appeal in combating what he described as “Europe’s censorship crisis.” He noted, “Even if our clients are eventually exonerated, they have endured years of unfair prosecution for simply expressing their beliefs. The only lasting resolution is to repeal the hate speech laws in Finland and throughout Europe, as these laws have been used to silence Christians and other dissenting voices.”

Price also remarked on the historical context of freedom of speech emerging from Europe, emphasizing the critical need to reverse the trend of censorship seen in this case, which he believes threatens Western civilization at large.