Freedom of Speech on Trial

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Watch Päivi’s story

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Meet the grandmother and Member of Parliament who never thought she would face three criminal charges for sharing her beliefs in public.

Päivi Räsänen has served as a member of the Finnish Parliament since 1995, and was Minister of the Interior from 2011-2015. She is a medical doctor, mother of five children, and has seven grandchildren.

Päivi faced trial on January 24th, 2022.

Päivi Räsänen was shocked to learn that she was accused of “hate speech” for publicly voicing her deeply held beliefs on marriage and human sexuality.

She faced a daunting trial on 24 January for having published a pamphlet on marriage in 2004, for taking part in a discussion on a radio show in 2019 and for directing a tweet at her church leadership.

Police investigations against Räsänen started in June 2019. As an active member of the Finnish Lutheran church, she addressed the leadership of her church and questioned its official sponsorship of the LGBT event ‘Pride 2019’, accompanied by an image of a Bible text.

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