The Supreme Court of Finland, in a 3-2 vote, convicted Christian Democrat MP Päivi Räsänen on Thursday of “agitation against a population group” over a 2004 publication critical of homosexuality.
In recent years, Räsänen, who previously served as Interior Minister, found herself in a legal battle on accusations of “hate speech” against LGBT+ people over a 2004 publication, a 2018 radio appearance, and a 2019 social media post that included a bible verse. While she was acquitted by the District Court of Helsinki and the Court of Appeal, the case was eventually brought to the Finnish Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the court voted to convict Räsänen over the 2004 publication, which she titled, “Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity.” The Luther Foundation Finland, which republished the content over the internet in 2019, was also convicted.
The Finland Supreme Court noted that the MP was charged with two counts over the publication “derogatory towards homosexuals on the basis of their sexual orientation.”
“In the text, Räsänen had inter alia noted that homosexuality is an aberration of psychosexual development and described homosexuality as sexual deviation,” the Finnish top court said in a statement.
Finnish former interior minister and Christian Democrats leader Päivi Räsänen is pictured at the Finnish parliament in Helsinki, Finland on March 26, 2026. Finland’s Supreme Court on March 26 convicted her of hate speech and fined her over her comments on homosexuality. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva / AFP via Getty Images)
“The Supreme Court held that Räsänen’s statements were in this way derogatory towards homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation. However, certain other passages referred to in the charge were not held to be derogatory,” the statement continued.
The Supreme Court dismissed a third charge related to Räsänen’s social media post that contained a bible verse on the basis that the post was not derogatory towards homosexuals in context, as the passage was negative about sexual acts between persons of the same sex and by the expressions “shame” and “sin.”
The Finnish Supreme Court imposed fines on Räsänen and the Luther Foundation Finland’s manager, ordering both to take down the “unlawful passages” in the publication.
Finald’s Christian Democrat party published a statement from Räsänen on Thursday evening in which she expressed concerns over the future of free speech in the European country. Räsänen noted that the ruling was not unanimous, and said she will have to take time to carefully read the decision to assess whether or not it would be wise to appeal it at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
“Freedom of speech is needed precisely when we disagree on things. I hope that despite this decision, constructive discussions can be held, even on difficult issues, under the protection of freedom of speech and religion,” the statement read in part.
Räsänen asserted that the process, which lasted almost seven years, “with its examinations and trials, without a verdict,” has been likely to restrict freedom of speech and religion by causing self-censorship — stressing, “a more serious problem is the demand for censorship, a ban on publication of the article.”
“Despite this ruling, defending freedom of speech and religion has not been in vain. And it has not been in vain to present the teachings of the Bible,” Räsänen said.
