Swedish prosecutors announced on Wednesday that two men will be prosecuted for burning copies of the Quran in a series of incidents last year that sparked outrage across the Islamic world and raised fears of jihadist attacks. According to the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office, the men are charged with “agitation against an ethnic or national group” in four separate incidents where they burned copies of the Quran outside a mosque and in other public places.
Following the burnings, Sweden’s internal security agency raised the terror alert level, and neighboring Denmark, which also experienced a wave of Quran burnings, tightened its legislation and banned such practices.
Prosecutor Anna Hankeo stated in a statement, “The two men are being prosecuted for their statements during these four incidents and their handling of the Quran, which aimed to express contempt for Muslims due to their religion.” She added that most of the evidence against the two men, Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem, comes from video recordings.
Momika, an Iraqi refugee, claims that he intended to protest against Islam and call for a ban on its holy book. The Swedish Migration Agency has expressed a desire to deport Momika for providing false information in his residency application, but this will not happen as he is at risk of torture in his home country.
