The Koran burnings held in Sweden last year caused several violent protests in Muslim countries. The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was stormed and the terrorist threat level in Sweden was raised. The government appointed an investigation to review the police’s ability to, with regard to Sweden’s security, decide on permits for public gatherings such as demonstrations, writes TT.
After the investigation, Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) put forward three different proposals on how a new law change could stop Koran burnings.
Presents three different proposals
The first proposal means that the police can determine the time and place or stop a gathering that poses a danger to crime in Sweden, that threatens the country’s security or threatens Swedish interests abroad.
The second proposal is that the police, with regard to Sweden’s security, should be allowed to decide on other conditions where, for example, they can prohibit certain forms of expression during the gathering, such as the burning of a book.
The third proposal gives the police a stronger right to decide on the time and place for an assembly.
– This de facto means that it becomes a criminal offense to burn the Koran in a public place. We get a ban on burning holy books that could conceivably harm Sweden’s interests abroad or harm Sweden’s security, says Nils Funcke, freedom of expression expert.
And he is critical of the new bill.
– This is a very radical and far-reaching restriction on freedom of demonstration, which is a fundamental right. In addition, there are less intrusive ways to prevent such Koran burnings such as outrageous behavior, disrupting religious services and so on.
“Will be a hit in the air”
The plan is for the new law changes to come into effect on July 1, 2025. But despite this, all Koran burnings would still not be able to be stopped.
– There will be a blow in the air because if someone sets up a ball grill on their own plot or balcony and puts the Koran on it, such a manifestation cannot be prohibited. Burning the Koran itself is not punishable. It is in public places that it is restricted, says Nils Funcke.
And if this is spread on the internet, it can have similar effects as a larger manifestation, he believes.
– If you then burn the Koran and do it at an occasion where no one sees, but only record and spread it, then it will have the effect that the proposal wants to achieve. If the line is to be met, it must also be forbidden to record and depict demonstrations that could damage Sweden’s security abroad.
The rights of foreign citizens may be restricted
It has also been investigated whether citizenship can be taken into account when examining permits for public gatherings.
According to freedom of expression expert Nils Funcke, this could mean a restriction for foreign citizens and he believes that it is the wrong way to go.
– We have been very generous in Sweden towards people who have come from other countries. Regardless of the reason they came here, they have been given largely the same rights as Swedish citizens. And it is explicitly limited, says Nils Funcke.
And according to Nils Funcke, more demonstrations may be affected by the new bill, in addition to just Koran burnings.
– It is a flexible legislation you get through the wording. It is not only Koran burning that is affected, but it can hit other manifestations as well.