CAIRO – The Iraqi prosecutor general’s office has sent an arrest warrant to the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) for Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi-born refugee in Sweden, who burned a Quran in Sweden’s capital Stockholm in late June, Sputnik quoted Iraqi broadcaster Al Sumaria’s report yesterday, citing the country’s Supreme Judicial Council.
The council said that the prosecutor’s office sent an information sheet and a special arrest warrant for Momika and requested Interpol to notify Baghdad should he be arrested.
On June 28, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Aidiladha, a protest took place outside Stockholm’s main mosque, during which the Quran was burned. Swedish police authorised the demonstration.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the permit was “lawful but inappropriate”.
The desecration and burning of the Quran in Stockholm has sparked a wave of condemnation across the world. Iraq has called on the Swedish authorities to extradite the immigrant responsible for the incident. Many heads of state, along with the secretary-general of the Arab League and the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council, have condemned the act.
A similar demonstration occurred in Sweden in January when Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burned the Muslim holy book before the Turkish embassy. – Bernama, July 7, 2023
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