The police have handed over the investigation of suspected incitement against a group of people due to the Koran burning on Södermalm in Stockholm to prosecutors.
– There are specific circumstances which mean that there is reason to assume that a crime has been committed, says preliminary investigation leader Tomas Granlund.
Two people, the private individual Salwan Momika and a companion of his who arranged the demonstration, are suspected of incitement against a group of people. One of them is also suspected of violating the fire ban that prevailed at the time.
When the provocateur Rasmus Paludan burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm in January, a report of incitement against a ethnic group was made even then. That time, however, the report was dropped by prosecutors on the grounds that Koran burning was aimed at a symbol of the religion, and not the group itself.
New circumstances
At Wednesday’s Koran burning, the circumstances were different, reason the police who reported the incident.
– On this specific occasion, there was desecration of the Koran, burning of the Koran and other specific circumstances, such as the timing, which means that there may be reason to assume that a crime was committed, says Tomas Granlund.
– We know that incitement against ethnic groups has been tried before, but now it will be tried in a completely different context, he adds.
At the time of Salwan Momika’s manifestation, the great Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha was being celebrated, with prayer times on several occasions around the clock at Stockholm’s mosque. Gestures and statements made at the demonstration also play a role in the police’s decision to report, explains Tomas Granlund.
Went calmly to
– The police authority does not want to try the matter for the sake of trying it, but according to the ninth section of the Police Act, we must do so if there is reason.
No unrest broke out at Wednesday’s demonstration. The Koran burning is the first to receive permission since the administrative court and the Court of Appeal in Stockholm earlier this year ruled that the police’s decision to deny permission for Koran burnings was incorrect.