Swedish police arrested more than ten people on Sunday, September 3 after scenes of violence in Malmö, in the south of the country, following a rally during which, once again, a copy of the Koran was burned.
Sunday’s rally, organized by Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, instigated by similar events that angered the Muslim world, took place in Malmö in a square with a large immigrant population. According to the public television channel SVTsome 200 people came to watch the scene.
“Spectators expressed their emotion after the organizer burned the writings”police said. “The atmosphere was stormy”continued the same source, specifying that “violent riots” erupted at 1:45 p.m.
According to the police, the rally ended after the departure of the organizer, but a group of individuals remained behind. A dozen people were arrested for disturbing public order and two others arrested on suspicion of having participated in violent riots.
Terrorist alert level raised
According to the media, spectators threw stones at Salwan Momika. A video shows protesters trying to cross the police line before being stopped by the latter. Another video shows a man trying to stop the police vehicle carrying Mr. Momika to get him off the scene.
At the end of July, 37-year-old Salwan Momika and another man, Salwan Naja, trampled on a copy of the Quran in Stockholm before setting it on fire, as they had done at previous rallies that sparked protests. diplomatic tensions between Sweden and Middle Eastern countries.
The Swedish government has condemned the desecrations of the Koran while stressing that the Constitution of Sweden protects the right of assembly and freedom of expression.
Iraqi protesters twice attacked the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in July, sparking a fire inside the diplomatic mission in the second assault.
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In mid-August, the Swedish Security Service announced that it had raised the terrorist alert level to 4 on a scale of 5, the strong reactions aroused abroad by the desecrations of the Koran on Swedish soil making the country a “priority target”. At the beginning of August, Sweden decided to tighten border controls.
Neighboring Denmark, where public desecrations of the Koran have also taken place, has announced plans to ban burnings of the holy book of Muslims. Sweden is considering legal ways to do this too.