Supreme Court upholds Räsänen´s hate speech conviction

The Supreme Court (Korkein oikeus-KKO) on Thursday upheld the conviction of Suomen Kristillisdemokraati (Christian Democratic Party) lawmaker Päivi Räsänen of incitement against a minority group for her writings about homosexuality, reported national broadcaster Yle.

The court upheld the sentence of 20 day-fines, around 1,800 euros awarded earlier by the lower courts.

Päivi Räsänen, also the former Chair of the Christian Democratic Party and a former Interior Minister, however, said that she would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against the verdict.

The verdict on Thursday stems from a booklet published by Räsänen in Finnish in 2004 entitled "Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Understanding of Humanity".

The booklet was published on the website of the Finnish Luther Foundation and the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese.

The groups within Evangelical Lutheran Church opposed same-sex marriages and the ordination of women, the report added.