{"id":29543,"date":"2026-04-06T02:04:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=29543"},"modified":"2026-04-06T02:04:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:04:26","slug":"supreme-court-of-finland-makes-crimes-against-humanity-convictions-in-landmark-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=29543","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court of Finland makes crimes against humanity convictions in landmark ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In a landmark ruling on March 26, the Supreme Court of Finland<\/a><\/span> convicted P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen<\/a><\/span>, a member of the Christian Democrats<\/a><\/span> party in the Parliament of Finland<\/a><\/span> and Juhana Pohjola<\/a><\/span>, the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland<\/a><\/span>, as well as the Luther Foundation of Finland<\/a><\/span> and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland<\/a><\/span> of crimes against the humanity<\/a><\/span> of gays and lesbians. The defendants were convicted under the section of the Criminal Code of Finland<\/a><\/span> concerning crimes against humanity<\/a><\/span>, over a pamphlet written by R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, edited by Pohjola, and published by the Luther Foundation and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese that made claims about homosexuality<\/a><\/span> that contradicted the consensus of the scientific community<\/a><\/span>. The decision was a significant precedent with implications for future rulings pertaining to the legal intersection of freedom of speech<\/a><\/span> and freedom of religion<\/a><\/span> with hate speech<\/a><\/span> and crimes against humanity, as well as LGBT rights<\/a><\/span> and human rights<\/a><\/span> in liberal democracies<\/a><\/span>.\n<\/p>\n

In the pamphlet, Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity<\/i>, R\u00e4s\u00e4nen argued her belief that homosexuality and Christianity<\/a><\/span> are incompatible. She claimed that homosexuality was a “sexual abnormality” and a “developmental disorder” quoting verses from the Bible<\/a><\/span> 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<\/a><\/span> sexual minorities, constituting crimes against humanity. The court stated that these claims were contrary to the global scientific consensus<\/a><\/span> that homosexuality was a normal variation of human sexuality<\/a><\/span> and not a disease or disorder.\n<\/p>\n

The response to the ruling from Finnish politicians was mixed. The Prime Minister of Finland<\/a><\/span>, Petteri Orpo<\/a><\/span>, of the centre-right National Coalition Party<\/a><\/span>, took a stand against political interference in the judiciary and stated that “politicians should not comment on court decisions”. Those from R\u00e4s\u00e4nen’s Christian Democrats party and the right-wing Finns Party<\/a><\/span> criticised the court’s decision, with Riikka Purra<\/a><\/span>, the Deputy Prime Minister of Finland<\/a><\/span> posting on social media: “Freedom of speech took another serious hit today through the supreme court\u2019s voting decision.” Other politicians praised the decision, with opposition party leader, Sofia Virta<\/a><\/span>, of the centre-left Green League<\/a><\/span>, 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.”\n<\/p>\n

The court dismissed a related charge against R\u00e4s\u00e4nen over a post on X<\/a><\/span> (then a tweet<\/a><\/span> on Twitter), that quoted a series of Bible verses, Romans 1:24\u201327<\/i>, to back her beliefs about same-sex relationship<\/a><\/span>s, finding that it was a subjective religious opinion.\n<\/p>\n