Swedish Prosecutor Says Desecrating Quran Not A Hate Crime
It comes as investigations into two anti-Islam protests, which had triggered Muslim protests in Malmo, were dropped.
Swedish authorities have decided to close preliminary probes into the actions of a far-right Danish political party, which caused rioting in the city of Malmo in August. The members of Stram Kurs (‘Hard Line’) were suspected of inciting hatred against an ethnic group. But prosecutors said the burning and kicking of copies of Islam’s Holy Book did not constitute a hate crime, RT reported.
The two controversial stunts took place on Friday, August 28. The burning was staged and filmed in the Emilstorp neighborhood, while the kicking action happened shortly afterwards in the Stortorget square. Swedish police eventually arrested three party members on suspicion of inciting hatred. The videos of the two protests outraged the local Muslim community, triggering protests in the city.
While desecrations of the Quran in itself did not constitute a hate crime, some of the chants that could be heard during the kicking session could be considered as such, Malmo prosecutor Sofia Syren told the newspaper Sydsvenskan on Monday. But investigators failed to identify who shouted these, making prosecution impossible. So last week the probes were closed.
The person who instigated the Quran-defiling stunts in Malmo, didn’t participate in them personally. Rasmus Paludan, the head of Stram Kurs, was banned from entering Sweden for two years before the protests and got arrested for violating it before he could join fellow party members. Last week he was taken into custody again in Paris, as he was preparing to stage yet another Quran-burning near the Arc de Triomphe. He was ordered to leave France.
