The Helsinki Court of Appeals has just unanimously acquitted Christian Finish politician, Päivi Räsänen, who was charged with a hate crime after posting a tweet in 2019 questioning the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s promotion of ‘pride month.’

State prosecutors charged Räsänen after she cited a Bible verse in the tweet explaining that Biblical position on homosexuality, the Christian Post reports.

As part of its case against Räsänen, the government also included statements she had made on a radio program and a pamphlet written in 2004.

Räsänen had been previously acquitted of the charges in a lower court case which ordered the government to pay all her legal fees.

State prosecutors chose instead to appeal the decision.

According to those who attended Räsänen’s trial, it eerily resembled the Roman Catholic Inquisition where the inquisitors made repeated attempts to have those deemed heretics recant their beliefs.

During the trial, Räsänen was represented in part by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

“At the heart of the prosecutor’s examination of Räsänen was this: would she recant her beliefs?” said ADF counsel Paul Coleman. “The answer was no — she would not deny the teachings of her faith. The cross-examination bore all the resemblance of a ‘heresy’ trial of the Middle Ages; it was implied that Räsänen had ‘blasphemed’ against the dominant orthodoxies of the day.”

The Helsinki Court of Appeals ruled that the previous acquittal by the lower court was correct and criticized the state’s attempts to once again quell free speech in that country. The Finnish Constitution guarantees Freedom of Speech for everyone.

In addition to serving as an elected official, Räsänen is also a medical doctor and Lutheran Bishop and once served as a Minister in the Finish government.

READ: Finnish court acquits politician of ‘hate crime’ charges for Bible tweet against LGBT pride AND Finnish Elected Official Unanimously Acquitted After Being Charged for Quoting the Bible