A Stockholm court on Monday found guilty a person of inciting ethnic hatred in connection with four 2023 Koran burnings that sparked anger in Muslim nations. The verdict was delivered just days after Salwan Momika was killed by his co-defendant.
Momika, a 38-year-old Iraqi Christian, was shot dead later Wednesday in an apartment south of Stockholm.
The Stockholm district court was scheduled to release its conviction against Momika and Salwan Najem, 50, the following evening, but it was delayed until Monday following Momika’s death.
Judge Goran Lundahl stated in a statement that” there is a wide range within the construction of freedom of expression to be critical of a church in a scientific and objective conversation.”
” At the same time, expressing one’s mind about religion does not offer one the freedom to do or say anything and everything without offending the organization that holds that belief,” he said.
Najem, 50, was found guilty of four counts of “agitation against a regional or ethnic group” by the court.
He received a suspended word, which in Sweden means that the judge would reevaluate its verdict if he committed another crime while on a two-year supervision.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of 4, 000 kronor ($ 358 ).
The two gentlemen were accused of desecrating the Koran, including burning it, and making offensive remarks about Muslims on two occasions outside a Stockholm shrine.
Even if the intention was to criticize Islam’s church, the actions and perform far outweigh what constitutes a scientific debate and criticism. On all instances, the marches expressed disdain for the Muslim class”, Lundahl said.
The couple’s protests strained relations between Sweden and a number of Middle Eastern nations.
In July 2023, Iraqi protesters half stormed the Scandinavian consulate in Baghdad, starting fires inside the mixture on the following occasion.
Sweden’s intelligence services Sapo raised its risk levels in August of that year from one to five, claiming that the country had become a “prioritized target” as a result of the Koran burnings.
The murder of Momika was deemed a danger to our free democracy by deputy prime minister Ebba Busch, with Ulf Kristersson claiming there was” a chance that there is also a website to a foreign power”.
Five people were detained in connection with the murder, but they have since been released.
