The hate speech case against a Christian politician and Lutheran bishop in Finland was dropped Wednesday after months of litigation.
Bishop Juhana Pohjola and Parliamentarian Paivi Räsänen had been charged with three counts of criminal behavior after Räsänen, a medical doctor and mother of five, questioned the Finnish Lutheran Church's participation in an LGBT Pride event in 2019. Räsänen was interviewed by police repeatedly after her message to church leadership, and General Prosecutor Raija Toiviainen charged Räsänen with hate speech in April 2021, along with Pohjala on the same charges.
The court dropped all charges Wednesday, ruling that "it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts."
"I feel relieved! It was a victory not only for us but for all who value the freedom of speech and religion," the bishop told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.
MP of the Christian Democrats Paivi Rasanen arrives to attend a court session in Helsinki, Finland on Jan. 24, 2022.
Räsänen has served in the Finnish parliament since 1995 and was the minister of the interior from 2011 to 2015.
"I hope this gives new encouragement for Christians to teach and confess their faith also in the public arena," Pohjola told Fox News Digital. "However, in the court decision it was said that our pamphlet includes offensive speech against homosexuals but not defaming in the criminal sense. That makes me worried, because although people can be offended by different things, the biblical teaching is never offensive in the sense of degrading human value. But it's truthful, healing and liberating. I do not accept the idea that our writing included hate speech – no matter what the surrounding society might say."
The pair's defense argued that prosecutors failed to provide reasonable grounds for the accusations, instead falling into discussions of theology and faith.
"The defense denied the charges and criticized the prosecution for not presenting grounds for their accusations on the first day of the hearing, but rather concentrating on more general argumentation and biblical-theological deliberation," the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland wrote on its website. "Since the prosecutors had failed to state the evidence for the charges, that left the defendants with little opportunity to defend themselves against those charges."
Pohjola forgives the Finnish government for putting him and Räsänen on trial, but remains concerned about the possibility of future prosecutions due to the language of the verdict.
"Of course as Christians, we are called to forgive everybody, but I'm still worried about the damage this case has already [caused] for basic rights in our society," Pohjola told Fox News Digital. "I know also that the gender ideology behind all this is not disappearing, but increasing in the society."
He concluded, "I'm going keep on preaching Christ Crucified who was condemned for our sake and risen for our salvation. He is for me and all other sinners the only hope in this broken world!"
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chairwoman Nadine Maenza previously gave a statement in support of Pohjola and Räsänen.
"Religious freedom and freedom of expression protect the right to peacefully express one’s beliefs in public, even if others might disagree with those beliefs. Finland should not be prosecuting Päivi Räsänen and Juhana Pujola," Maenza wrote.
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy also sent a letter of support to Pujola and Räsänen during the trial, praising them for not capitulating when pressed by the Finnish government.
"In the spirit of Christian solidarity, we write to offer you our support, encouragement and our prayers during this trying time," Roy wrote in the open letter. "Ms. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola, we have kept you in our prayers over the past months as we watched your cases from the United States – knowing that this challenge you face is not merely legal, but spiritual."
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