By Decision Magazine<\/p>\n\n\n\n P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen\u2014the Finnish parliamentarian convicted of \u201chate speech\u201d earlier this year by Finland\u2019s Supreme Court for expressing her Biblical beliefs in a church pamphlet about marriage and sexual ethics \u2014has been banned from traveling through London\u2019s Heathrow Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former Finnish Minister of the Interior and physician said that her electronic travel authorization (ETA) for the U.K. has been revoked after initially being approved. ETA\u2019s are required for travelers without a Visa to pass through U.K. border control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s closely divided ruling has had unexpected consequences,\u201d R\u00e4s\u00e4nen said. \u201cIn addition to restricting freedom of expression, it has also created restrictions and difficulties related to travel and participation in meetings and conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy greatest concern is that this decision has left many people with uncertainty, confusion and fear about the consequences of exercising their freedom of speech and religion in a peaceful manner, and about where the line lies between lawful and prohibited speech.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a 3-2 decision, the Finnish high court on March 26 found R\u00e4s\u00e4nen guilty <\/a>of \u201chate speech.\u201d At the same time, the court unanimously acquitted her on a charge stemming from tweeting a Bible verse in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADF International<\/a> has been defending R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, who was first charged with \u201cagitation against a minority group\u201d in April 2021. She was investigated in 2019, after she tweeted a Bible verse that spoke against her church denomination\u2019s endorsement of an LGBTQ event. She was also charged under the section of the Finnish criminal code titled \u201cwar crimes and crimes against humanity\u201d for her statements on marriage and sexuality in a live radio debate, and for her views published in a 2004 church booklet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two lower courts had acquitted her on all the charges, but the Supreme Court found R\u00e4s\u00e4nen and co-defendant Juhana Pohjola, a Lutheran bishop who published the pamphlet, guilty of having \u201cmade available to the public and kept available to the public opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pohjola has also been denied the travel authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n R\u00e4s\u00e4nen announced<\/a> in May that she is appealing her criminal conviction to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The appeal to the ECHR stands as the last legal opportunity for her conviction to be overturned and could serve as a critical turning point for free speech rights in Finland and Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Franklin Graham, in a Facebook<\/a> post on Wednesday, called on Christians to continue praying for R\u00e4s\u00e4nen\u2014a wife, mother of five and grandmother of 12\u2014who has served in the Finnish Parliament since 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe that Finnish Member of Parliament and Christian P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen has been banned from flying through London\u2019s Heathrow Airport simply for her belief on Biblical sexuality,\u201d Graham wrote. \u201cShe has been persecuted for many years in her home country and accused of \u2018hate speech\u2019 simply for quoting what the Bible says about homosexual sin in Romans 1:24-27. Let\u2019s pray for P\u00e4ivi as she stands boldly on God\u2019s Word and refuses to back down. God bless her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"64ef1332](\"https:\/\/harbingersdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/64ef1332-8bc8-5c61-8beb-d8f3a16d98b0-1068x601.jpeg\" "\\"64ef1332-8bc8-5c61-8beb-d8f3a16d98b0\\"\/")