Päivi Räsänen during a plenary session of the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki on 21 July 2026. Photo: Vilja Sirviö / Lehtikuva
Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen has appealed her conviction for ethnic agitation to the European Court of Human Rights, seeking a ruling that Finland violated her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Christian Democrats lawmaker announced on Thursday that she had lodged an application with the court in Strasbourg following her conviction by Finland's Supreme Court in March.
The Supreme Court found Räsänen guilty of ethnic agitation over statements about homosexuality contained in a pamphlet first published in 2004 and later shared online in 2019. She received a fine of €1,800.
In a statement, Räsänen said she wants the European court to find that the Finnish judgment breached her rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
