Stock

Supreme Court of Finland convicts people involved in writing and publishing pamplet for inciting hatred towards homosexuals

09/04/2026
admin

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Related articles

Rainbow flag
Rainbow flag

Collaborate!

Monday, April 6, 2026

In a landmark ruling on March 26, the Supreme Court of Finland convicted Päivi Räsänen, a member of the Christian Democrats party in the Parliament of Finland and Juhana Pohjola, the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, as well as the Luther Foundation of Finland and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland of crimes against the humanity of gays and lesbians. The defendants were convicted under the section of the Criminal Code of Finland concerning crimes against humanity, over a pamphlet written by Räsänen, edited by Pohjola, and published by the Luther Foundation and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese that made claims about homosexuality that contradicted the consensus of the scientific community. The decision was a significant precedent with implications for future rulings pertaining to the legal intersection of freedom of speech and freedom of religion with hate speech and crimes against humanity, as well as LGBT rights and human rights in liberal democracies.

In the pamphlet, Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity, Räsänen argued her belief that homosexuality and Christianity are incompatible. She claimed that homosexuality was a “sexual abnormality” and a “developmental disorder” quoting verses from the Bible to support her argument. Upon closer examination, the court found that while the parts of the pamphlet were merely subjective religious opinions, other portions dehumanised sexual minorities, constituting crimes against humanity. The court stated that these claims were contrary to the global scientific consensus that homosexuality was a normal variation of human sexuality and not a disease or disorder.

The response to the ruling from Finnish politicians was mixed. The Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, of the centre-right National Coalition Party, took a stand against political interference in the judiciary and stated that “politicians should not comment on court decisions”. Those from Räsänen’s Christian Democrats party and the right-wing Finns Party criticised the court’s decision, with Riikka Purra, the Deputy Prime Minister of Finland posting on social media: “Freedom of speech took another serious hit today through the supreme court’s voting decision.” Other politicians praised the decision, with opposition party leader, Sofia Virta, of the centre-left Green League, saying that “Finland is a country where people must not be labelled or mocked without consequence. Freedom of speech is important, but it comes with responsibility.”

The court dismissed a related charge against Räsänen over a post on X (then a tweet on Twitter), that quoted a series of Bible verses, Romans 1:24–27, to back her beliefs about same-sex relationships, finding that it was a subjective religious opinion.


#Supreme #Court #Finland #convicts #people #involved #writing #publishing #pamplet #inciting #hatred #homosexuals

发表评论

您的电子邮箱地址不会被公开。