Case of the Rt Hon. Ms Päivi Räsänen and fundamental freedoms
25.1.2022
Question for written answer E-000323/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Simona Baldassarre (ID), Marco Campomenosi (ID), Laura Huhtasaari (ID), Teuvo Hakkarainen (ID), Antonio Maria Rinaldi (ID), Elena Lizzi (ID), Stefania Zambelli (ID), Alessandra Basso (ID), Alessandro Panza (ID), Silvia Sardone (ID), Susanna Ceccardi (ID), Isabella Tovaglieri (ID), Gianantonio Da Re (ID), Mara Bizzotto (ID)
Today, 24 January 2022, the trial will take place of Päivi Räsänen, a former Finnish Minister of the Interior, who risks being imprisoned for the alleged offence of ‘hate speech’, which she is said to have committed by posting a passage from the Bible on her Twitter account.
This episode testifies to the current severe restrictions on freedom of speech, opinion and religion, which are principles enshrined in Article 9 of the ECHR, Article 11 of the CFREU, and Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and which define these freedoms as fundamental human rights.
It follows that prosecuting a European citizen for publicly expressing her Christian faith violates the basic principles on which the EU is founded.
In the light of the above, can the Commission indicate how it will:
- 1.Protect the freedom of religion, speech and expression in the case of the Rt Hon. Ms Räsänen and prevent such incidents from reoccurring in Europe?
- 2.Ensure that every citizen enjoys the right to practise and express his or her beliefs, without falling victim to censorship, discrimination and legal proceedings based on purely ideological motives?
- 3.Take action against this violation of freedom of thought and, hence, of the rule of law?