by Xia-Maria Mackay, Christian Today
Päivi Räsänen, the Christian politician convicted in Finland for her views on marriage and sexuality, says her electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for the UK has been cancelled.
The former Finnish Minister of the Interior said her application for an ETA was initially successful but she later received a notification informing her that it had been cancelled.
ETAs are required for travellers who do not have a visa and need to pass through UK border control upon arrival in the country – including transits if they leave the secure area to change terminals or collect luggage.
Mrs Räsänen said she was not given any explanation for the cancellation of her ETA and that it has thrown into doubt her plans to travel to Northern Ireland next month. The 66 year old is due to visit the country in August to speak at a conference and visit the Parliament. She no longer knows if this trip will be possible.
The impact of her cancelled ETA is already being felt in other ways – last week, returning from a conference in California, she scrapped plans to transit through Heathrow, choosing instead to fly via Dallas in order to avoid any problems passing through the UK.
The cancellation of her ETA comes just months after the Finnish Supreme Court found Mrs Räsänen guilty of “hate speech” over statements expressing biblical views on marriage and sexuality in a pamphlet she co-wrote in 2004.
She was also convicted of “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group.”