Päivi Räsänen's travel authorization to Great Britain denied
Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen has stated that she was denied travel authorization to Great Britain. Räsänen applied for permission to travel to the country together with her husband, but the authorities rejected only her application.
Räsänen suspects that the negative decision is due to her previous legal proceedings. She was charged with and later acquitted of charges related to hate speech and religious writings. Räsänen's husband received his travel authorization without any issues, even though they submitted their applications at the same time.
British authorities generally do not comment publicly on individual travel authorization decisions. The denial of the travel permit has sparked a discussion about how past court cases affect people's opportunities to travel to different countries.
The case has attracted attention in Finland, as Räsänen is a well-known politician. She has announced that she will look into the matter further with the authorities to understand why the permit was not granted.