After the recent Koran burnings, the government has begun to analyze the ordinance.
But a ban can be a dangerous way to go, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer.
– There would be great risks for freedom of expression and free opinion formation, he says.
A man burned a Koran outside a mosque in Stockholm last week. Something that resulted in major consequences internationally. Threats and calls for acts of violence have been directed at Sweden. And Turkey is critical that the burnings are allowed, which could complicate the NATO application.
The government is now working on analyzing the order law, with a particular focus on permission for public gatherings.
– If you look at the ordinance today, there is a lot of room when it comes to the danger of war to limit or deny the application for a general assembly, but not in connection with a tangible terrorist threat, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer.
– It feels natural to analyze those questions and see if the order is good as it is, or if we want to change it.
How long the analysis will take is difficult for Strömmer to answer. He begins by saying that it can take the time it needs, but quickly changes his mind, referring to our times.
– We live in a very vulnerable situation as a country, with wars in our immediate area and state actors who are very offensive such as China and Russia. We need to protect ourselves against that kind of threat. At the same time, there is a great deal of complexity – because at the bottom lies the very strong protection for freedom of expression.
“Big risks”
Freedom of expression is precisely what Strömmer often returns to. And a solution in the form of a ban on blaspheming religious scriptures or symbols, he is critical of:
– I think there would be great risks to freedom of expression and the free formation of opinions if we were to start restricting certain opinions based on their content. I think that is a dangerous path for our open and free society.
– Freedom of expression protects statements that can be seen as provocative and offensive to others and it is in the nature of things that it should be that way.