Finland’s Supreme Court hears arguments in Bible tweet case

The court on Thursday began a hearing in a government prosecutor’s case against Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen and a Lutheran bishop. The defendants were first charged with hate speech in 2021 after Räsänen expressed personal and Biblical views on homosexuality on social media and in a booklet the bishop published. In an online post, Räsänen questioned the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s decision to partner with a Pride festival. She asked how the decision aligned with Romans 1:24-27, which describes homosexuality as dishonorable and impure. The Alliance Defending Freedom International is coordinating the defendants’ legal defense.

Two lower courts unanimously acquitted Räsänen, a former minister of the interior, of hate speech in 2022 and 2023. But the government in 2024 appealed the decision to Finland’s Supreme Court.

What did both sides say during Thursday’s hearing? Prosecutors asked the court to criminally convict Räsänen and the bishop for incitement against a group, a category of hate speech. They also asked that the duo be fined and that Räsänen’s tweet and pamphlet be censored from the internet, according to ADF International.

Räsänen said that as a church council member, she felt bound to discuss her concerns that the church’s support for a Pride event undermined scripture’s credibility. The pamphlet’s purpose was to defend the content of the Bible, she said, according to ADF International.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report on one of Räsänen’s earlier trials for more details on the charges against her.