British Government Rejects Travel Visa for Finnish Christian Convicted of ‘Hate Speech’ for Citing the Bible
Tyler O’Neil
• July 12, 2026
Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen on Feb. 4 in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
When Päivi Räsänen, a Christian member of Finland’s Parliament who was convicted of “hate speech” for a pamphlet citing the Bible, booked flights with a layover in London, the United Kingdom rejected her visa application.
Räsänen told the Daily Signal in an interview Thursday that the U.K. initially approved her application, but days before her flight, the government notified her it had been canceled.
The rules for Electronic Travel Authorization state that entry clearance or permission “must be refused” when an applicant “has committed a criminal offence, or offences, which caused serious harm.”
Räsänen told the Daily Signal that the crime of which she had been convicted “is in a section of war crimes and crimes against humanity.” She had booked tickets from the U.S. back to Helsinki, Finland’s capital city, with a layover in London.
The Finnish member of Parliament says she is a member of the Finnish Parliament’s “friendship group” with the UK Parliament. In August, she plans to speak in Northern Ireland at a conference about freedom of speech.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/12/british-government-rejects-travel-visa-finnish-christian-convicted-hate-speech-citing-bible/
