BREAKING NEWS – Helsinki, Finland – A respected member of Finland’s parliament is set to reappear in court for a second time facing “hate speech” charges for a social media post citing Bible verses, more than a year after a district court dismissed the charges against her.
In a press release, Parliament Member Päivi Räsänen, a 62-year-old medical doctor and grandmother of seven, said that she is “ready to defend her freedom of expression in all necessary courts.”
When the charges were announced, Finland’s state prosecutor said that Räsänen’s comments were made to cause intolerance, contempt and hatred toward homosexuals.
During the first trial, prosecutors read unrelated Bible verses as “bad” speech, allegedly that the use of the word “sin” could be harmful. “I feel that the word ‘sin’ is very harmful,” explained one of the prosecutors. “Jesus referred to the same word a lot in his teachings, and the courts in his day ruled against him too, so I know what I’m talking about.”