A Finnish politician who was prosecuted last year for tweeting her Christian beliefs along with a Bible verse has won re-election to the Finnish Parliament.
Päivi Räsänen was charged with s0-called hate speech for posting a Bible verse in response to her church’s decision to sponsor a gay pride event.
She won her case in district court, with the judgment stating that ‘it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts’.
But Finnish prosecutors are still hounding her and have launched an appeal against her acquittal.
Paul Coleman, author of Censored: How European Hate Speech Laws are Threatening Freedom of Speech, said, ‘When a longstanding and respected Finnish parliamentarian is put on trial twice for sharing her deeply held beliefs in a tweet four years ago, you know regard for free speech in Europe has hit a new low.'
