The Finnish state prosecutor will appeal a second unanimous court decision which exonerated a Finnish MP and bishop of “hate speech” allegations for sharing their faith-based beliefs.

The prosecution is demanding tens of thousands of Euros in fines and insisting that the two defendants’ publications be censored.

“The state’s insistence on continuing this prosecution despite such a clear and unanimous ruling by both the Helsinki District Court and Court of Appeal is alarming,” said Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International.

“Dragging people through the courts for years, subjecting them to hour-long police interrogations, and wasting taxpayer money in order to police people’s deeply held beliefs has no place in a democratic society. As is so often the case in “hate speech” trials, the process has become of the punishment”.