The world-famous Bible trial in Finland is still not over. The protagonist of the case announced: he is ready to defend freedom of speech and religion.
The Finnish public prosecutor has announced that he will file an appeal in the case known as the Bible trial, the international Christian rights organization ADF International reported The appeal takes place despite the fact that in the case
previously, the accused were acquitted in both the first and second degree, the Christian Democrat member of parliament Päivi Räsänen, the country's former minister of the interior, and the Lutheran bishop Juhana Pohjola.
The politician was indicted in 2021 because he had previously shared a quote from the apostle St. Paul on his social media page during a church debate. The representative stood up for traditional Christian teaching and questioned his church for supporting Helsinki Pride, the largest event of the LGBTQ lobby in Finland, and for providing a venue for some of the event series. Bishop Pohjola stood trial because he was the publisher of an article by Räsänen in which the Christian mother argued in defense of the traditional family model.
The Christian rights protection organization reminds us in its newly published news: on November 14, 2023, the Helsinki Court of Appeal, acting in the second instance, dismissed all charges and upheld the acquittal previously handed down by the district court.
Following the prosecutor's appeal, the Supreme Court must now decide whether to hear the case.
"Following my complete acquittal in two courts, I am not afraid of a trial before the Supreme Court. While I am fully aware that all trials involve risks, a Supreme Court acquittal would set an even stronger positive precedent for freedom of speech and religion for all. And if the court decides to overturn the lower courts' acquittals, I stand ready to defend freedom of speech and religion all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary."
Päivi Räsänen said now.
The negotiations in Finland caused a significant international response, in Budapest on two occasions thousands of people protested in front of the Finnish embassy against the procedures infringing freedom of speech and religion.
Paul Coleman, managing director of ADF International, spoke on Friday about
"It is troubling that the state insists on another prosecution despite the clear and unanimous decision of the Helsinki District Court and the Court of Appeal. There is no place in a democratic society for dragging people to court for years, for hours of police questioning, and for wasting taxpayers' money to control people's deeply held beliefs."
At the same time, he emphasized that since the charge was "hate speech", the process itself is part of the punishment in some respects.
Featured Image: Twitter/Päivi Räsänen
