Despite winning her last case the MP is facing more legal challenges.
QUICK FACTS:
- Finnish parliament member Päivi Maria Räsänen is being targeted by an aggressive prosecutor who wishes to prosecute her for quoting the Bible.
- Formerly the interior minister of Finland, Räsänen already won a landmark free speech court case in her home country after she was accused of a hate crime toward LGBT people.
- The resolute Christian told Remix News that she has a deep conviction that this is a trial from God and that she is serving her calling by standing up for her right to quote Scripture.
THE MP’S RESPONSE TO BE TARGETED FOR PROSECUTION:
- “I have to say that I was very relieved and happy for the [initial] victory. The verdict was very important for freedom of speech and religion in Finland, and of course, for myself,” Räsänen said. “It was a very long process, lasting almost three years, including all the police investigations and interrogations and so on. So, it took a lot of my time and energy. I’m also very happy that the three judges made a unanimous decision, which sent a strong message.”
- “I’m also pleased because the court stated very clearly that some of the accusations made by the prosecutor were simply not true, because during this trial, perhaps the most difficult element for me was that they claimed I made statements where I never said anything like that, and it feels incredibly unfair to be accused of something that you have never said,” she went on to say.
- “I have a calm mind about it. I am convinced that the whole process is in the hands of God. If I get the acquittal in the appeal court or in the Supreme Court, the case would gain the status of a positive precedent for freedom of speech and religion. And the trials will give more opportunities for me to present the message of the Bible and speak about the gospel in public.”
BACKGROUND:
- Räsänen is a medical doctor who has been a member of the Finnish Parliament for 27 years and currently serves as the chair of the Christian Democratic Parliamentary Group.
- She was previously the chairwoman of the Finnish Christian Democrats and served as the Minister of the Interior of Finland from June 2011 to May 2015.
