The Supreme Court of Finland has found MP Päivi Räsänen — a former Minister of the Interior and current member of the Christian Democrats — guilty of inciting hatred. The court ordered her to pay a fine of €1,800 and remove offensive materials from public access.
The ruling was based on several public statements, including a 2004 brochure, in which Räsänen described homosexuality as a “developmental disorder,” a “sexual abnormality,” and denied its naturalness.
The court concluded that such statements go beyond the scope of religious discussion and degrade a group of people based on their sexual orientation. Räsänen called the verdict “shocking” and announced plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that the decision restricts freedom of speech and religion.
