Two Men to Go on Trial for Quran Desecration in Sweden

IQNA – Sweden is going to put two men on trial for desecrating the Quran several times during protests last year, Swedish prosecutors said.

They said on Wednesday that Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem committed “offences of agitation against an ethnic or national group” four separate times.

The charges said the two desecrated the Quran, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims, in one case outside a mosque in the capital, Stockholm.

The events in the summer of 2023 angered Muslim leaders, prompted Sweden to tighten security and strained its relations with countries in the Middle East.

“Both men are prosecuted for having on these four occasions made statements and treated the Quran in a manner intended to express contempt for Muslims because of their faith,” Senior Prosecutor Anna Hankkio said in a statement.

“In my opinion, the men’s statements and actions fall under the provisions on agitation against an ethnic or national group, and it is important that this matter is tried in court,” she added.

Evidence against the men was mainly video recordings, Hankkio said.

Najem said he was not in the wrong, his lawyer, Mark Safaryan, told the Reuters news agency.

“The permit granted in connection with the demonstration is covered by my client’s intent. His rights are protected by the Swedish Constitution,” Safaryan said.

Momika, a Christian refugee from Iraq, has said he wanted to protest against the institution of Islam and to ban its holy book.

Source: Al Jazeera