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<h1><u><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Finnish politician </span></u><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">now facing jail for </span><u><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">defending biblical view of</span></u> <span style="background-color:rgb(246,178,107)">homosexuality</span></h1>
<div><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>'I will go to the court with a peaceful and
brave mind, trusting that Finland is a constitutional state where the
freedoms of speech and religion, which both are guaranteed in
international agreements and in our constitution, are respected.'</b></span></div>
<div><a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/finnish-politician-now-facing-jail-for-defending-biblical-view-of-homosexuality" target="_blank">https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/finnish-politician-now-facing-jail-for-defending-biblical-view-of-homosexuality</a></div>
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Päivi Räsänen <span>ADF International / Video screen grab</span>
<div><i></i><div><div><p>May 5, 2021 (<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com" target="_blank">LifeSiteNews</a>)
– <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Finnish parliamentarian (and former cabinet minister) Päivi Räsänen <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">
</span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>has been persecuted by <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">the state</span> for years</b></span>. As she told me last May in
an <a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/05/an-attack-on-free-speech-in-finland" target="_blank">interview for <i>First Things</i></a>,
the police had interrogated her several times for hours simply <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>for
</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><u><b>expressing her religious convictions on the sanctity of marriage</b></u></span>. In a <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/finnish-politician-opens-up-about-police-investigating-her-for-defending-biblical-view-of-homosexuality" target="_blank">follow-up interview</a>
for LSN in September, Räsänen explained that she had become the subject
of <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>four separate criminal investigations</b></span>. Shockingly, <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>prosecutors have
now brought three criminal charges against </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>her</b></span>. A prominent politician
in a Western country <u><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>has been criminally charged</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>for quoting the Bible
on <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">sexuality</span></b></span></u>. It is an unprecedented case, and Räsänen is the canary in
the coal mine.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Räsänen is the wife of a Lutheran pastor, the mother of five, and the
grandmother of six, and is a medical doctor as well as a politician</b></span>.
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>According to the Finnish news site YLE, however,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>she</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> <span style="background-color:rgb(246,178,107)">is </span></b><span style="background-color:rgb(246,178,107)"><b>a potentially
dangerous criminal who made statements that the Prosecutor General
called “derogatory and discriminatory against homosexuals”</b> </span></span>which
“violate their equality and dignity.” Räsänen’s words, the Prosecutor
General went on, “overstep the boundaries of free speech and religion
and are likely to fuel intolerance, contempt, and hatred.” Again, the
Prosecutor General is referring not to some hate-filled speech or
videoed rant—he is referring to Räsänen’s quoting of Scripture.</p>
<div><span><span id="m_-6659632179340265168m_1640495569763640886m_-2819153636944651714gmail-street-r6x2dfux0w"><div><span></span></div></span></span></div>
<p>For that, <u><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>she faces </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>up to two years in prison</b></span></u>. If Räsänen is indeed
jailed the impact on religious freedom in Finland and across the Western
world would be staggering.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><u><b>Räsänen, however, has responded by saying that she is privileged to
defend Christianity and that she will do so joyfully and at every
opportunity</b></u></span>. She agreed to an interview to explain what she is being
subjected to, and how she is doing. <br></p><p>A teljes cikk olvastható:<font size="1"> <font size="2"><a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/finnish-politician-now-facing-jail-for-defending-" target="_blank">https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/finnish-politician-now-facing-jail-for-defending-</a></font></font><font size="2">biblical-view-of-homosexuality
</font></p></div></div></div></div><div> </div></div></div><div id="gmail-m_-6659632179340265168DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br> <table style="border-top:1px solid rgb(211,212,222)">
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