Timo Ali-Vehmas @timoalivehmas.bsky.social

According to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Finland, it is permissible in certain contexts to describe homosexual acts as “sinful” or “shameful,” but not to characterize homosexuality or same-sex attraction as a “psychosexual developmental disorder.” Päivi Räsänen was acquitted for tweeting a Bible verse using the former expressions but convicted for republishing and making publicly available a pamphlet originally written over twenty years ago containing the latter. In doing so, the Court—like church authorities during the Inquisition—positioned itself as an arbiter of permissible scientific truth, criminalizing statements it deemed factually incorrect and insulting to a protected group. The deeper irony is that Räsänen’s own party, the Christian Democrats, helped construct the very legal framework now turned against their former party leader. By backing legislation on incitement against a group ("kiihottaminen kansanryhmää vastaan") — and by advocating for the criminalization of Holocaust denial — the party contributed to opening a Pandora’s box, fostering a cultural climate in which the legal penalization of heterodoxy is both morally and legally justified. The Supreme Court overturned the earlier acquitting rulings of the District Court ("käräjäoikeus") and the Court of Appeal ("hovioikeus") by the narrowest 3–2 margin. Even if it had affirmed those decisions, the case appeared likely to proceed to the European Court of Human Rights — so the controversy is far from over. Thoughts?