A lawmaker in Finland who stunningly was accused – and convicted – of quoting from the Bible, which the judiciary there deemed an insult to some people – has confirmed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
Win or lose, that court likely is the final step for Päivi Räsänen, who was convicted by an appeals court in Finland for “expressing her beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics in a 2004 booklet written for her church.”
It is ADF International that has worked on her case since it developed years ago.
“Appealing my conviction is about much more than a fine or a decades-old church booklet,” said Räsänen following the filing of her appeal. “My case stands to determine whether the fundamental rights of religious freedom and free speech are still protected in Finland and across Europe, and whether these societies are still willing to stand up for the rights of all – even those they disagree with.”
She said, “‘Hate speech’ laws that criminalize peaceful expression are incompatible with a truly democratic society. As a Member of Parliament and a Christian who has faced censorship and years of criminal investigation, I am profoundly aware of the devastating consequences of curtailing basic liberties. The European Court of Human Rights must decisively uphold these freedoms and promote the common good across Europe.”
Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola and the Luther Foundation Finland also were caught up in the anti-Christian politicization of the case against Räsänen.
The Finnish court said the Bible-based statements in the booklet must be “removed from pubic access and destroyed.”
Pohjola confirmed, “If authorities can censor religious teaching and dictate how faith leaders instruct their followers, religion becomes a tool of the state rather than a means to freedom and human flourishing.”
The fight is reaching its pinnacle as radicals are running campaigns against “hate” speech that they claim hurts people.
Those campaigns actually suppress any dissent from the leftist orthodoxy so common in today’s societies.
The most recent attack on Räsänen over her Christian beliefs was from the United Kingdom, which canceled her authorization to travel through one of its airports on a tour.
“Päivi Räsänen has been criminally convicted for peacefully expressing her Christian beliefs,” said Lorcán Price, barrister at Alliance Defending Freedom, who is representing Räsänen before the European Court. “Her ban from entering the United Kingdom is completely disproportionate and unnecessary.”
Price said, “It is clear that Europe is facing a crisis of censorship, of which the conviction for a 20-year-old church booklet is among the most egregious examples. The European Court of Human Rights has long held that freedom of expression protects not only inoffensive ideas, but also those that offend, shock or disturb. No state should have the power to silence disfavored perspectives, and widely-held Christian beliefs should never be an exception to this rule.”
Räsänen, Finland’s former interior minister, a medical doctor and grandmother of 12, was criminally prosecuted for nearly seven years for sharing her Christian beliefs about marriage and human sexuality in a 2019 tweet and live radio debate, as well as for authoring the 2004 church booklet, for which she was charged alongside Bishop Pohjola and the Luther Foundation Finland, ADF International confirmed.
She was acquitted in the lower courts but then convicted by the nation’s supreme court.
WorldNetDaily previously has reported on the attacks on Rasanen, including when the Finnish Supreme Court delivered its shocking anti-religion claim.
Europe is officially totalitarian.
The SUPREME COURT of Finland has CONVICTED Paivi Rasanen of a crime against humanity for a 20+ year old church pamphlet which opposed gay marriage.
At the time gay marriage was not even legal in Finland!
The state of Finland is evil. https://t.co/7SJpTKlted
— Dr. Calum Miller (@DrCalumMiller) March 26, 2026
Keep fighting the good fight, Paivi Rasanen @PaiviRasanen. God bless you. https://t.co/KOaBMu3sjd
— Vicki Lynn (@VickiLynn47) February 5, 2026
#kirkko on ilmoittanut olevansa #seta n #Pride2019 virallinen partneri. Miten kirkon oppiperusta, #raamattu sopii yhteen sen kanssa, että häpeä ja synti nostetaan ylpeyden aiheeksi? pic.twitter.com/cnjAQCrOc2
— Päivi Räsänen (@PaiviRasanen) June 17, 2019
The lower courts had ruled that judges have no jurisdiction to “interpret” the Bible.
‘I am shocked’: Court delivers anti-Christian ruling in lawmaker’s ‘hate speech’ case
