Two men have been charged with committing “crimes of incitement against an ethnic or national group” for burning the scrolls of the Koran.
Staff Reporter Dawn TV + Daily Dawn
Copenhagen: The burning of the Koran, Islam’s holiest book, has sparked widespread outrage and protests across the Muslim world, raising fears of revenge attacks in Sweden.
Sweden’s prosecutor has said that after collecting evidence against two suspects who serially burned the Holy Quran last year, charges have been laid.
Sweden’s prosecution authority said in a statement that the two men committed the crime of inciting a group or belief on four separate occasions when they tried to burn Islam’s sacred cloth outside a mosque and in other public places.
Neha said the evidence against the accused consisted largely of video recordings and identified them as Selwan Momika and Selwan Najeem.
Mark Sifarian, the lawyer of accused Selvan Najem, said that his client has denied any wrongdoing, the permission to protest was linked to my client’s intentions but his rights are protected under the Swedish constitution.
The lawyer of the other accused did not give any response in this regard, however, Selvan Momika is a refugee from Iraq and he said that he wanted to protest against Islam and ban the holy book Quran.
Sweden’s migration agency said in a statement that it wanted to deport Selvan Momika for providing false information to seek asylum, but that decision could not be made because he would face torture in his home country.
It should be noted that a year ago in Sweden and Denmark, there was great anger in the Muslim world over these unwanted incidents and the accused were demanded to be punished severely.
Muslims believe that the Quran is the word of God and thus desecrating it is a serious crime.
But critics say Sweden, one of the world’s most liberal countries, should protect Koran burning by law as a form of free speech.
However, Swedish prosecutors said the two men were accused of committing “crimes of incitement against an ethnic or national group”.
“Both men have been prosecuted on four occasions for making statements and treating the Koran in a manner that was intended to insult the Muslim faith,” senior prosecutor Anna Hankow said in a statement.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement that the incidents took place on four separate occasions. The two accused burnt the holy book of Islam outside a mosque and other public places.
Caption
48: Accused Sylvan Momika raising the national flag of Sweden after burning the Koran
