Freedom of speech against liberals: the former Finnish interior minister is on trial again for sharing the lines of the Bible.
Päivi Räsänen quoted the apostle Paul on social media, exercising her right to freedom of speech and religion. However, liberal rights defenders jumped on the ideas classified as hate speech as censors. In March 2022, the Helsinki District Court decided at first instance that Räsänen spoke within the legal limits of freedom of speech and religion. However, the prosecution appealed against the acquittal.
The second-degree trial began on Friday, and the stakes are enormous: if Räsänen is eventually convicted, they will also condemn St. Paul, the Bible, that is, the very foundation of the Christian faith.
According to the former Finnish Minister of the Interior, perhaps there was a slight change in tone, perhaps the prosecutor was less energetic now.
"But the accusations are the same, he made the same claims about me, and now he went a little more into the details of my writings, asking questions about certain words. And the essence of the case still concerns what it means to be human and what it means to be sinful, from a very theological approach," stated Räsänen.
According to the politician, his case attracts more attention abroad than in Finland. According to him, the fact that after the Helsinki district court acquitted him in the first instance, the liberal media seems to have been disappointed by the outcome also plays a role in this.
"That's why it might be difficult for them to report on the issue of freedom of speech for the Finnish public, because this liberal media has also joined the ranks of my accusers, for example the biggest daily newspaper. Of course, there was also a live broadcast and coverage of his current appeal hearing, but I see that it is already difficult for some journalists to report on the case, because they have already taken a stand against me and accused me of committing hate speech. And I still completely deny that it was hate speech, since I was talking about the classic Christian idea that the church has been promoting for centuries, actually for two thousand years. And this teaching did not come from hatred, but from love," emphasized Räsänen.
According to him, the Helsinki District Court was very clear when it ruled that the charges against him are false and will not stop.
"But the prosecutor then and still now argues and asserts things that I never said, for example, that God did not create homosexual people. I, on the other hand, have never said anything even similar to this, because I have always maintained that all people are God's creation and that everyone is equal before him. This and similar clauses were included in the pamphlet on which the accusation was based."
Räsänen is worried that the proceedings initiated against him will serve as a punishment and a warning to others that such things can happen to anyone who wants to exercise their freedoms.
"That it will have a kind of chilling effect, it will silence people. However, I see this case as a commitment to protect and fight for these freedoms. For freedom of speech and belief. In addition, the procedure gave me many opportunities to talk about the Bible, what it teaches about human existence, the relationship between God and man, and, of course, the basic message of the Bible," he added.
"It was quite painful to be accused of hate speech, since what I was talking about was not about hate, but about love. But I also think that this whole process is in God's hands. In a way, at the same time, I think it's also an honor, because thousands of people have sent me messages saying that they are praying for me and for Finland. I also received messages saying that because of this case they opened the Bible and started reading it," Räsänen showed another aspect of the case.
"LGBT and transgender activists operate in very close networks at the international level, so I think that those who are more on the ground of tradition regarding gender, i.e. share the views of common sense, should also cooperate more. I would like to add that the mentioned problems are also present in our schools. For example, when a child starts school, they are asked whether they consider themselves a boy, a girl, or something else. Which can really confuse children of a few years old," said the former Minister of the Interior.
