Iraqi man who desecrated holy Quran shot dead in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Salwan Momika, a man who repeatedly burnt the holy Quran in 2023 in Sweden, sparking outrage among Muslims, has been shot dead, media reported Thursday as police confirmed a man died in a shooting the day before.

A Stockholm court was due to rule on Thursday whether Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned holy Quran in scores of incidents, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred.

It postponed the ruling until February 3, saying that “because Salwan Momika has died, more time is needed.”

Police said in a statement they had been alerted to a shooting in the city of Sodertalje, where Momika lived.

The shooting occurred indoors and when police arrived, they found a man who had been “hit by shots and the man was taken to hospital”, the statement said.

In a later update, police said the man had died and a murder investigation had been opened.

Several media outlets identified the deceased as Momika and reported that the shooting may have been broadcast live on social media.

In August, Salwan Momika, along with his partner Salwan Najem, was charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.

According to the charge sheet, the duo desecrated the holy book, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims — on one occasion outside a Stockholm mosque.

Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by this blasphemous act.

Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.