[Lea en español después del texto en inglés]
Christians' ability to speak biblical truth according to their beliefs is at risk in Finland due to an overly broad hate speech provision in Finnish law. In a stunning case, a Christian member of the Finnish parliament, Päivi Räsänen, has been charged by the Finnish prosecutor general with three counts of "ethnic agitation." Each count relates to Räsänen's respectful expression of her widely-held Christian beliefs.
Paul Coleman, Räsänen's lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom International said, "The prosecutor began the day by stating that this wasn't a case about Christianity. This wasn't a case about the Bible. This wasn't a case about her beliefs and then immediately started to make it all about the Bible, all about her beliefs, all about Christianity; and I'm not kidding, began the day by reading passages of scripture, reading Old Testament verses." From his vantage point, Coleman said, "There is no question that as you sat in the courtroom today and watched this case unfold, what was on trial is really biblical teaching itself."
Respect for human rights is paramount and Governments should not be in the business of determining which religious beliefs are considered offensive, or even criminal. For Räsänen, this case is far bigger than herself. It's about the defense of basic human rights, for the Finnish people and people everywhere. She has stated, "I cannot accept that voicing religious beliefs could mean imprisonment. I will defend my right to confess my faith, so that no one else would be deprived of their right to freedom of religion and speech." Lea el texto en español ↓
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