Paludan has applied to hold a public meeting outside the Turkish embassy in the Diplomatic City in Stockholm at 1pm on Saturday. There he wants to burn a copy of the Muslims’ holy book as usual.
To Expressen, Paludan says that the purpose is to highlight Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s criticism of Swedish freedom of expression after last week’s action outside Stockholm City Hall.
Then the Kurdish organization Rojava Committees hoisted a doll representing Erdogan at the feet, comparing him to the Italian dictator and fascist Benito Mussolini who was executed and hung upside down.
Turkey is raging
Turkey’s government was outraged by the move, and demanded that those responsible be held accountable. Chairman Andreas Norlén’s planned trip to Ankara was cancelled, and the Swedish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Later, an outraged Erdogan demanded that Sweden expel 130 “terrorists” as part of the NATO process – a sudden increase of 57 people.
The Stockholm police confirm that an application was received from Paludan, but had not yet made a decision on permission as of Wednesday morning.
Paludan has been refused permission several times in different parts of the country, citing that the police lacked resources or that the application was received too late, but those arguments have not been approved by the Administrative Court. In other rulings, the police have been right when they directed him to another location with reference to security risks.
Kurdish demonstration
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, a long-planned demonstration train departs from Norra Bantorget in protest against Erdogan and Sweden’s NATO membership.
The organizer, the organization Kurdish Democratic Community Center, expects between 500 and 600 participants in the train that ends at Medborgarplatsen. Among the participating organizations are also the Rojava Committees.
The news site Al-Monitor reported back in December, citing pro-government Turkish media, that Ankara was aiming to stop Saturday’s demonstration.