In January, right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan burned a Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The Swedish authorities had allowed this protest action, despite Ankara’s objections. This expression of protest angered Muslims in many parts of the world, leading to protests and calls to boycott Swedish goods and delay Sweden’s entry into NATO.
Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court today overturned a police decision to ban two Koran-burning protests in February. The court stated that in these cases, safety concerns were insufficient to limit the right to demonstrate.
Swedish police had banned Koran-burning protests outside the Turkish and Iraqi embassies in Stockholm, saying the demonstration in January had made Sweden a “higher priority target for attacks”.
Swedish politicians have criticized the burning of the Koran, but defended the right to freedom of expression.
At the same time, the Swedish Security Service announced that five suspects linked to international Islamist extremism were detained today. This is one of the things related to Quran burnings.
But the Security Service pointed out that in this case the threat of attack was not immediate.
“The security service often needs to act early to prevent threats. We cannot wait for a crime to be committed,” the service said in a statement.
