In an important victory for free speech, Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen has been cleared of hate speech charges for the second time by a Finnish court.
An appeals court handed its ruling on November 14, upholding the previous ruling acquitting Räsänen of all charges.
“I am deeply relieved. The court has fully endorsed and upheld the decision of the district court, which recognized everyone’s right to free speech,” said Päivi Räsänen after her victory.
“It isn’t a crime to tweet a Bible verse, or to engage in public discourse with a Christian perspective. The attempts made to prosecute me for expressing my beliefs have resulted in an immensely trying four years, but my hope is that the result will stand as a key precedent to protect the human right to free speech. I sincerely hope other innocent people will be spared the same ordeal for simply voicing their convictions,” added Räsänen, the former Finnish Interior Minister and grandmother of eleven.
Räsänen, who is still a member of parliament, was formally charged with “agitation against a minority group” in 2021 under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” ADF explained. The charges centered on a 2019 tweet, a 2019 live radio debate, and a 2004 church pamphlet in which Räsänen argued against gay marriage. Bishop Juhana Pohjola was also charged for publishing Räsänen’s 2004 pamphlet and was also acquitted.
According to Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International and a member of Räsänen’s legal team, the case garnered global media attention and was also one of the most closely followed news stories in Finland.
In the latest ruling, the appeals court found that it “has no reason, on the basis of the evidence received at the main hearing, to assess the case in any respect differently from the District Court. There is therefore no reason to alter the final result of the District Court’s judgment.”
Under the ruling, the prosecution will have to pay tens of thousands in legal fees to cover costs incurred by both defendants. The prosecution could appeal to the Supreme Court, and has pledged to do so, but Coleman doubts that the court would even take the case as both lower courts have come to the same ruling, leaving no legal doubt.
“One would think she [the prosecutor] would have to come up with something new and it’s clear that there are no new arguments to be made here,” Coleman explained to The European Conservative. “That doesn’t mean to say that it will be the end of the road because what we have sadly seen throughout this whole four-year ordeal is that it has been a somewhat ideological process. And when ideology is driving it, what is a rational decision goes out of the window to a degree.”
According to Coleman, the case turned into something of an embarrassment for the Finnish people.
“When the case started out, I think that the public and the media were unsure how to respond to it and many, I think, assumed that if such prosecution was taking place, then there must be more to this case. She must have said some really awful things,” he told The European Conservative.
But as the trial progressed and details of the charges became public, public opinion and the media turned in Räsänen’s favor.
“Really from that point forward, I think that Päivi has received more and more support in the media, particularly from those who disagree with the substance of what she’s saying but recognise the principle of free speech,” Coleman said.
In fact, the public broadcaster that had aired the debate included in the charges intervened in Räsänen’s favor, refusing to take down the broadcast and defending the importance of the media allowing politicians to express their ideas and opinions to the public.
Coleman said the prosecution had attempted to turn the case into a modern-day witch trial by focusing on Räsänen’s beliefs and arguing that calling gay marriage a sin was inherently offensive. During cross-examination, the prosecutor again and again asked the parliamentarian if she would recant her stance on gay marriage.
Coleman found that not only did the six judges from the two courts not buy the prosecution’s argument but neither did most legal experts.
“There’s been a sense of shock within the legal community,” Coleman said of reactions to the case, which was closely watched by both lawyers and the general public. “When I would go to Helsinki, they would in a sense apologize and say hey, we don’t want you to get a wrong impression of the Finnish legal system.”
“Everyone was very confident in the Finnish judicial system and the Finnish lawyers thought that this would result in an acquittal, and that is in fact what has happened,” he added.
Seeing the wider effects of the victory for Räsänen in Finland and beyond will take time, but Coleman hopes it will give everyone the confidence to engage in public debate and discussion on important issues.
“The principle here of free speech applies to everyone and therefore this case will be a benefit not just to Päivi and other Christians, but really to all members of Finnish society,” he said. “And to the extent it applies to other jurisdictions, it will benefit people living in those jurisdictions too.”
