The verdict in the closely watched trial of a Finnish Christian MP was announced on Wednesday.
A court in Helsinki dismissed all charges against Päivi Räsänen, a physician and mother of five, and Juhana Pohjola, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, after a free speech trial that drew international attention.
The court said in a unanimous 28-page ruling on March 30 that “it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts”.
It said that Ms Räsänen had sought to “defend the concept of family and marriage between a man and a woman”. If some people found the statements offensive, it said, “there must be an overriding social reason for interfering with and restricting freedom of expression”.
It ordered the state pay legal costs to the defense of more than €60,000.
Ms Räsänen said: “I am so grateful the court recognised the threat to free speech and ruled in our favor. I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after being acquitted.”
“Although I am grateful for having had this chance to stand up for freedom of speech, I hope that this ruling will help prevent others from having to go through the same ordeal.”
The charges against 62-year-old Ms Räsänen related to her comments in a 2004 pamphlet, her appearance in a 2018 radio debate, and a Twitter post in 2019.
The Prosecutor General charged Ms Räsänen, who served as Finland’s interior minister from 2011 to 2015, with incitement against a minority group, arguing that her statements were “likely to cause intolerance, contempt, and hatred towards homosexuals”.
The charge against Pohjola concerned his decision to publish Ms Räsänen’s pamphlet, “Male and Female He Created Them”.
Paul Coleman, ADF International’s executive director, who was present on the first day of the trial on January 24, commented: “I would characterise the day as a modern-day Inquisition or heresy trial and the heresy was that Päivi and Bishop Juhana were on trial against the new sexual orthodoxy of the day.”
The state prosecutor has seven days to decide whether to lodge an appeal.
Catholic News Agency