Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee recognized for publicly burning copies of the Quran in Sweden, has been shot useless in his condo in Sodertalje, native information retailers have reported. The killing is alleged to have taken place on Wednesday, someday earlier than he was scheduled to seem in courtroom on hate speech fees.
Momika, who got here to Sweden in 2018, gained worldwide consideration 5 years later after staging a number of Quran-burning demonstrations within the Nordic nation, sparking protests in various Muslim-majority nations. His actions sparked diplomatic tensions between Sweden and international locations together with Iraq, Turkey, and Pakistan. The Iraqi authorities had demanded his extradition, and Swedish authorities had begun deportation proceedings towards him in 2023, although the method had not but been finalized.
Wednesday’s assault reportedly occurred whereas the 38-year-old was live-streaming on Tiktok. Swedish police confirmed that they’ve arrested 5 individuals in reference to the killing however haven’t disclosed particulars concerning the suspects’ identities or motives. Investigators are mentioned to be working to find out whether or not the capturing was politically or religiously motivated.
As famous by the media, Momika was supposed to seem earlier than the courtroom on Thursday for sentencing in a case on incitement towards an ethnic group for staging 4 Quran burnings.
“Because it has been confirmed that one of many defendants has died, the sentence should be adjusted to the truth that it’s not doable to condemn a deceased particular person,” the Stockholm District Court docket has mentioned.
One other defendant within the case, Salwan Najem, has commented on the information of Momik’s killing by claiming that he’s additionally prone to be focused. “I’m subsequent,” Najem wrote on X.
A number of people in Europe have been focused or killed after publicly opposing Islam lately. In 2020, French trainer Samuel Paty was beheaded after exhibiting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a classroom dialogue on free speech. Later that yr, three individuals have been killed in a knife assault at a church in Good. In 2015, 12 individuals have been killed in a terrorist assault on the workplaces of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after the journal printed satirical depictions of Muhammad.
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