Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen, convicted over citing a Bible passage on homosexuality, has been blocked from entering the United Kingdom, leaving her unable to attend a Northern Ireland conference where she was due to speak about freedom of speech.
Alliance Defending Freedom CEO Kristen Waggoner has urged UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to intervene, arguing that Britain should not uphold another country’s “heavy-handed censorship.”
Let’s not lose touch…Your Government and Big Tech are actively trying to censor the information reported by The Exposé to serve their own needs. Subscribe to our emails now to make sure you receive the latest uncensored news in your inbox…
Päivi Räsänen Barred from UK over Christian Speech Conviction, ADF Urges Action
By Joakim Scheffer, as published by the Hungarian Conservative on 119 August 2026
Finnish Christian Democrat Member of Parliament (“MP”) and former interior minister Päivi Räsänen has been barred from entering the United Kingdom, leaving her unable to appear in person at a religious liberty conference in Northern Ireland where she was due to speak about freedom of speech.
Alliance Defending Freedom (“ADF”), which represents Räsänen, said on Tuesday that her UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (“ETA”) had been cancelled following her March conviction by Finland’s Supreme Court for “agitation against a population group.” Her ETA was initially approved in June before being withdrawn in July. She subsequently applied for a full visitor visa and personally appealed to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, but was told she would not receive a decision in time for the conference.
The episode marks the second time in two months that the same travel restriction has prevented Räsänen from travelling through or to Britain. In July, she had to reroute a return journey from the United States to avoid transiting through Heathrow after her ETA was cancelled.
Under UK immigration rules, an ETA must be refused or cancelled when an applicant has been convicted of a criminal offence within the previous 12 months, including an overseas conviction.
Räsänen’s case stems from a seven-year prosecution over her public statements on homosexuality and Christian teaching. In March, Finland’s Supreme Court upheld her acquittal over a 2019 social-media post quoting a Bible verse, but convicted her over passages in a Christian pamphlet on marriage and sexuality. The court imposed 20 day-fines and ordered the unlawful passages removed from the online publication.
The ruling, as well as the lengthy trial process, drew significant international attention and criticism, mostly from Christian and free speech groups, as well as from Donald Trump’s America. The US embassy in Finland called the verdict “a troubling ruling for religious freedom and freedom of expression,” warning that it set a dangerous precedent.
ADF CEO Kristen Waggoner said Räsänen had been invited precisely because she had become an internationally recognised advocate for free speech. “Freedom-loving nations should welcome voices like hers – not uphold the heavy-handed censorship of other nations,” she said, urging Mahmood to intervene directly. “Free speech is not a crime,” she wrote in a post on X.
Räsänen, however, was far from the only internationally known conservative figure to be blocked from entering the UK recently. Former Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer extensively used visa powers against right-wing activists and politicians, including Polish MEP Dominik Tarczyński, Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek and US-based activists Joey Mannarino and Valentina Gomez, as they were scheduled to participate in an anti-immigration rally organised by Tommy Robinson in May. Separately, Finnish MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen was also denied entry in July.
Räsänen, Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola and the Luther Foundation Finland have now taken their convictions to the European Court of Human Rights. ADF argues that the case will test whether peaceful religious expression remains protected under Europe’s freedom-of-expression guarantees.
[Related: Unite the Kingdom rally goes ahead, despite Starmer’s best efforts to disparage and ban attendees]
About the Author
Joakim Scheffer graduated from the University of Szeged with a Master’s degree in International Relations. Before joining Hungarian Conservative, he worked as an editor at the foreign policy desk of Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet. In addition to his role at Hungarian Conservative, he serves as the editor of Eurasia magazine.
Featured image: Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen. Source: The Christian Post
The Expose Urgently Needs Your Help…
Can you please help to keep the lights on with The Expose’s honest, reliable, powerful and truthful journalism?
Your Government & Big Tech organisations
try to silence & shut down The Expose.
So we need your help to ensure
we can continue to bring you the
facts the mainstream refuses to.
The government does not fund us
to publish lies and propaganda on their
behalf like the Mainstream Media.
Instead, we rely solely on your support. So
please support us in our efforts to bring
you honest, reliable, investigative journalism
today. It’s secure, quick and easy.
Please choose your preferred method below to show your support.
Categories: Breaking News, Latest News, UK News