https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Five men arrested in Sweden over the killing of Salwan Momika, who repeatedly burned copies of the Quran in 2023, have been dismissed as suspects, a prosecutor said. https://www.thelocal.com/20250321/five-men-no-longer-suspects-in-killing-of-quran-burner-in-sweden Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:56:01 +0100 five-men-no-longer-suspects-in-killing-of-quran-burner-in-sweden Stockhom District Court has convicted Salwan Najem over four Quran burnings, which he carried out together with Salwan Momika, who was shot dead last week. https://www.thelocal.com/20250203/stockholm-court-finds-quran-burner-salwan-najem-guilty-of-hate-crimes Mon, 03 Feb 2025 12:27:54 +0100 stockholm-court-finds-quran-burner-salwan-najem-guilty-of-hate-crimes Salwan Momika, the Iraqi activist who carried out four Quran-burnings in 2023, was shot dead in his apartment on Wednesday. a day before a court was due to rule on whether he was guilty of hate crimes. https://www.thelocal.com/20250130/man-shot-dead-in-sodertalje-may-have-been-quran-burner-salwan-momika Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:12:08 +0100 man-shot-dead-in-sodertalje-may-have-been-quran-burner-salwan-momika Swedish prosecutors are accusing Iran of being behind a major cyber attack in which people were urged to take revenge on Quran burners. https://www.thelocal.com/20240924/sweden-says-iran-behind-hacker-attack-that-urged-revenge-for-quran-burning Tue, 24 Sep 2024 11:26:13 +0200 sweden-says-iran-behind-hacker-attack-that-urged-revenge-for-quran-burning Salwan Momika, the Iraqi activist who burned copies of the Quran at a string of protests in 2023, has been charged with four counts of incitement against an ethnic group. https://www.thelocal.com/20240828/quran-burning-activist-salwan-momika-to-face-trial-in-stockholm Wed, 28 Aug 2024 14:10:42 +0200 quran-burning-activist-salwan-momika-to-face-trial-in-stockholm Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish far-right campaigner, has been charged with incitement against an ethnic group and insult. https://www.thelocal.com/20240807/danish-swedish-extremist-rasmus-paludan-charged-with-hate-crimes Wed, 07 Aug 2024 14:19:22 +0200 danish-swedish-extremist-rasmus-paludan-charged-with-hate-crimes A new report recommends amending Sweden's Public Order Act to allow the police to prevent Quran burnings in the interest of national security. https://www.thelocal.com/20240705/three-ways-sweden-could-make-it-easier-to-stop-quran-burnings Fri, 05 Jul 2024 14:42:01 +0200 three-ways-sweden-could-make-it-easier-to-stop-quran-burnings An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year has been arrested in Norway and now faces deportation back to Sweden, according to court documents viewed by AFP on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.com/20240404/norway-to-deport-quran-burner-who-caused-uproar-back-to-sweden Thu, 04 Apr 2024 19:33:58 +0200 norway-to-deport-quran-burner-who-caused-uproar-back-to-sweden Denmark's parliament on Thursday adopted a law criminalising the "inappropriate treatment" of religious texts, effectively banning Quran burnings after a series of desecrations of Islam's holy book sparked anger in Muslim countries over the summer. https://www.thelocal.com/20231207/denmark-bans-quran-burnings-as-parliament-enacts-divisive-new-law Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:35:59 +0100 denmark-bans-quran-burnings-as-parliament-enacts-divisive-new-law Denmark's parliament will on Tuesday debate the government’s bill to ban Quran burnings, after a string of desecrations of Islam's holy book sparked anger in Muslim countries during the summer. https://www.thelocal.com/20231114/danish-parliament-to-debate-bill-to-ban-quran-burnings Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:01:35 +0100 danish-parliament-to-debate-bill-to-ban-quran-burnings A man was found guilty of agitation against an ethnic group in October 2023 after setting fire to a Quran back in 2020. Why was he convicted, when some other Quran burnings have not even gone to trial? https://www.thelocal.com/20230906/when-does-a-quran-burning-qualify-as-a-hate-crime Wed, 06 Sep 2023 13:25:20 +0200 when-does-a-quran-burning-qualify-as-a-hate-crime A Swedish court has found a man guilty of agitation against an ethnic group after he, among other things, lit the Quran on fire in a video featuring music associated with white-power terrorism. https://www.thelocal.com/20231012/swedish-court-convicts-quran-burner-of-hate-crimes-in-landmark-trial Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:18:48 +0200 swedish-court-convicts-quran-burner-of-hate-crimes-in-landmark-trial An Iraqi court gave 18 police officers jail sentences of up to three years for failing to stop protesters storming and torching Sweden's embassy in Baghdad, security officials said. https://www.thelocal.com/20230913/iraqi-police-officers-jailed-for-failing-to-protect-swedish-embassy Wed, 13 Sep 2023 08:46:20 +0200 iraqi-police-officers-jailed-for-failing-to-protect-swedish-embassy Baghdad has asked Sweden to extradite Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who stoked international outrage by desecrating the Quran. But it may be a futile request. https://www.thelocal.com/20230913/iraq-asks-sweden-to-extradite-quran-burner-but-is-it-even-possible Wed, 13 Sep 2023 08:40:26 +0200 iraq-asks-sweden-to-extradite-quran-burner-but-is-it-even-possible Denmark could punish people who burn the Quran in public with up to two years in prison under a new law proposed by the government on Friday. https://www.thelocal.com/20230825/denmark-announces-ban-on-quran-burnings Fri, 25 Aug 2023 14:26:35 +0200 denmark-announces-ban-on-quran-burnings UPDATED: Salwan Momika, the man behind a spate of recent Quran burnings, was allegedly assaulted on Monday, reports Aftonbladet. But a man claiming to be behind the alleged assault says the fight was staged. https://www.thelocal.com/20230821/stockholm-quran-burner-allegedly-assaulted-by-man-wearing-boxing-gloves Mon, 21 Aug 2023 17:47:15 +0200 stockholm-quran-burner-allegedly-assaulted-by-man-wearing-boxing-gloves An assailant who threw a Molotov cocktail at Sweden's embassy in Beirut managed to run away, said a diplomatic source. https://www.thelocal.com/20230810/foreign-minister-sheer-luck-no-one-injured-in-swedish-embassy-attack Thu, 10 Aug 2023 16:13:10 +0200 foreign-minister-sheer-luck-no-one-injured-in-swedish-embassy-attack Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says that burning books is not a statement, and that a law restricting it would therefore not impinge on freedom of speech. https://www.thelocal.com/20230804/danish-pm-says-books-should-be-read-not-burned-in-first-comments-on-quran-demos Fri, 04 Aug 2023 15:11:39 +0200 danish-pm-says-books-should-be-read-not-burned-in-first-comments-on-quran-demos Norway will not change its freedom of expression laws to prohibit the burning of the Quran, its foreign minister has said. However, those who damage the holy text can still be charged with hate speech. https://www.thelocal.com/20230802/why-norways-government-has-ruled-out-a-quran-burning-ban Wed, 02 Aug 2023 14:35:50 +0200 why-norways-government-has-ruled-out-a-quran-burning-ban Sweden's government says it has no plans to extend its hate law to include an explicit ban on burning or desecrating the Quran as the country's prime minister insists he is working "day and night" to remedy the crisis. https://www.thelocal.com/20230801/swedish-pm-says-working-day-and-night-to-counter-quran-burning-fallout Tue, 01 Aug 2023 15:25:06 +0200 swedish-pm-says-working-day-and-night-to-counter-quran-burning-fallout