Salwan Momika, an Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden, has died, a judge in Stockholm confirmed on Thursday. Swedish media reported that he was killed in a shooting in a nearby city. He staged multiple burnings and desecrations of the Quran in Sweden in 2023.
Videos of the Quran burnings sparked worldwide controversy and anger, particularly in several Muslim-majority countries, leading to riots and protests. The Stockholm District Court announced that a verdict in a trial in which Momika was a defendant, scheduled for Thursday, was postponed due to the defendant’s death.
Judge Göran Lundahl confirmed that Momika was the deceased but did not provide further details about the circumstances of his death. Police were called to a shooting in Södertälje, near Stockholm, on Wednesday night, where they found a man with gunshot wounds. He later died, prompting a preliminary murder investigation. Swedish broadcaster SVT, citing unnamed sources, reported that the victim was Momika.
Momika, who arrived in Sweden from Iraq in 2018 and was granted a three-year residence permit in 2021, had previously stated that his protests were aimed at Islam, not Muslims. He claimed he wanted to protect the Swedish population from the Quran’s messages. Swedish police had allowed his demonstrations, citing freedom of speech, though they still filed charges against him.
Momika and a co-defendant were facing charges of inciting racial hatred for statements made in connection with the Quran burnings. A verdict was set to be delivered on Thursday morning.
(With AP Inputs)