U.K. bars visit of Finnish MP convicted for Biblical beliefs

Finnish Member of Parliament and outspoken Christian Päivi Räsänen on Wednesday shared a Finnish newspaper article about the British government blocking her from entering the United Kingdom over her beliefs. Britain refused to grant her a travel pass because the Finnish Supreme Court in March found her guilty of hate speech for expressing Biblical beliefs on marriage and sexuality in a pamphlet she co-authored with a Lutheran bishop.

Räsänen wrote on social media that the court’s decision was wrong and the travel restrictions were unreasonable. She is currently working to appeal her conviction to the European Court of Human Rights, which could overturn the Finnish Supreme Court’s ruling. Franklin Graham was among several prominent Christians who joined with Räsänen in condemning the travel ban.

Räsänen had sought the travel pass to speak at the Northern Ireland Assembly and a Christian conference, the Bangor Worldwide Missionary Convention. The convention’s website still listed her and her husband as speakers as of Thursday.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report for more details on Räsänen’s plans to appeal her conviction.