A group of House Republicans is calling for the U.S. to support two prominent evangelical Christians in Finland who face a retrial on hate speech charges this month.
Led by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, the Republican lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Ambassador to Finland Douglas Hickey and U.S. Ambassador Rashad Hussein, at-large envoy for international religious 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 court acquitted Mrs. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola of “agitation against a minority group” in March 2022, after Mrs. Räsänen had posted a Bible verse about homosexual behavior on social media. Bishop Pohjola was charged for publishing 20 years ago a booklet Mrs. Räsänen had written on the traditional Christian view of marriage.
Finnish law allows prosecutors to appeal an acquittal; prosecutor Raija Toiviainen filed an appeal one month after the verdict.
Mrs. Räsänen said Monday that she will face the appeals court on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
“The mere process of litigation has a deterrent effect of curtailing freedom of expression and religion,” Mrs. Räsänen said in a statement. “If writings based on biblical teachings were to be condemned, that would mean a serious restriction of freedom of religion” in Finland.
She said she would go as far as the European Court of Human Rights “to defend freedom of speech and religion” if necessary.
The House Republicans denounced the latest developments in 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, both of South Carolina; and Michael Cloud, Randy Weber and Keith Self, all of Texas.
In response to a request for comment, a State Department spokesperson said that “as a general matter, we do not comment on Congressional correspondence.”
An attorney for the faith-based legal 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,” said Sean Nelson, ADF’s legal counsel for global religious freedom who is working on Mrs. Räsänen’s defense.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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