An Iraqi refugee in Sweden was killed just before a court’s verdict on the murder of his string of Quran burnings during anti-Islam demonstrations last year.
Salwan Momika, 38, was reportedly shot in a house in the town of Sodertalje near Stockholm the day before, according to police, who made five arrests on Thursday.
At a press conference, Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson stated, “I can assure you that the security services are deeply involved because there is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power.
Ebba Busch, the vice prime minister, criticized the murder.
“It is a threat to our free democracy. She wrote on X that it must be carried out in all its fullness by our society.
Due to the death of the former, the Stockholm District Court announced that it had moved its decision from Thursday to February 3. It had been scheduled to rule on whether Momika and co-defendant Salwan Najem were guilty of “agitation against an ethnic or national group.”
The pair had repeatedly profaned the Quran, including burning it, and made disparaging remarks about Muslims, even once outside a Stockholm mosque, according to the charge sheet from August.
Prosecutor Rasmus Oman confirmed that Momika’s murder had been the subject of an investigation. “We’re in the very early stages … there’s a lot of information gathering”, he said.
According to several media reports, the shooting may have been recorded on social media.
A man who had been “shot by shots” was discovered late on Wednesday in the city of Sodertalje after responding to a call about a shooting in an apartment complex where Momika lived.
Police picked up a phone and ended a livestream that appeared to be from Momika’s TikTok account, according to a video that was seen by news agency Reuters.
Outrage
Following the Quran burnings, which infuriated many Muslims around the world, Sweden raised its “terrorism” alert to the second-highest level in 2023. It also issued warnings about threats to Swedes at home and abroad.
In July 2023, Iraqi protesters twice stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, starting a fire in the compound the second time.
Momika, who had lived in Sweden since 2018, was faced with possible deportation in 2023 for allegedly giving false information on his residency application.
He was ultimately granted a temporary residency by Sweden’s migration agency after it realized his risk of torture and cruel treatment in Iraq.
Momika claimed that Sweden’s right to free speech and human rights were “a big lie” when she fled Sweden in March 2024 to seek asylum in Norway.
Source: Aljazeera
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