House Republicans again Finnish Christians going through retrial for hate speech

A bunch of House Republicans is asking for the U.S. to help two outstanding evangelical Christians in Finland who face a retrial on hate speech fees this month.

Led by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, the Republican lawmakers despatched a letter Tuesday to U.S. Ambassador to Finland Douglas Hickey and U.S. Ambassador Rashad Hussein, at-large envoy for worldwide non secular freedom, asking them to advocate for Päivi Räsänen, a member of the Finnish parliament, and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland.

A Helsinki courtroom acquitted Mrs. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola of “agitation against a minority group” in March 2022, after Mrs. Räsänen had posted a Bible verse about gay habits on social media. Bishop Pohjola was charged for publishing 20 years in the past a booklet Mrs. Räsänen had written on the standard Christian view of marriage.

Finnish regulation permits prosecutors to attraction an acquittal; prosecutor Raija Toiviainen filed an attraction one month after the decision.

Mrs. Räsänen mentioned Monday that she’s going to face the appeals courtroom on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

“The mere process of litigation has a deterrent effect of curtailing freedom of expression and religion,” Mrs. Räsänen mentioned in a press release. “If writings based on biblical teachings were to be condemned, that would mean a serious restriction of freedom of religion” in Finland.

She mentioned she would go so far as the European Court of Human Rights “to defend freedom of speech and religion” if obligatory.

The House Republicans denounced the newest developments of their letter to the U.S. diplomats.

“It is abundantly clear — the process is the punishment,” the group wrote. “The selective targeting of these high-profile individuals is designed to systematically chill others’ speech under the threat of legal harassment and social stigmatism.”

“No American, no Finn, and no human should face legal harassment for simply living out their religious beliefs. This case will have worldwide ramifications,” the letter reads.

The letter was signed by Mr. Roy and Reps. Debbie Lesko of Arizona; Doug Lamborn of Colorado; Anna Paulina Luna of Florida; Mary Miller of Illinois; Jim Banks of Indiana; Mike Johnson of Louisiana; Michael Guest of Mississippi; Andy Ogles of Tennessee; Alex X. Mooney of West Virginia; Jeff Duncan and Ralph Norman, each of South Carolina; and Michael Cloud, Randy Weber and Keith Self, all of Texas.

In response to a request for remark, a State Department spokesperson mentioned that “as a general matter, we do not comment on Congressional correspondence.”

An legal professional for the faith-based authorized advocacy group ADF International lauded the House GOP members’ letter.

“Freedom of religion or belief, and the freedom to express that belief, is a fundamental human right. ADF International welcomes this letter of support for MP Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola. In a democracy, nobody should fear criminal charges for expressing a peaceful opinion on social media,” mentioned Sean Nelson, ADF’s authorized counsel for international non secular freedom who’s engaged on Mrs. Räsänen’s protection.