Finland’s Supreme Court Convicts Päivi Räsänen for "Hate Speech" against Homosexuals
The conviction falls under the 'war crimes and crimes against humanity' section of Finland's criminal code.
Räsänen and Lutheran Lay-Bishop Juhana Markus Pohjola were convicted in a 3–2 split decision.
According to AdfInternational.org, the court acknowledged that the content did not incite violence. In fact, it went so far as to say that the conduct in question was “not particularly serious”.
However, the Supreme Court found them guilty of “making available to the public and keeping available to the public opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation”.
The court imposed fines totalling several thousand euros and ruled that the statements in question must be “removed from public access and destroyed”.
However, the court acquitted her over a 2019 tweet quoting a Bible verse.
Räsänen had previously been acquitted of all charges by two lower courts.
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