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
Salwan Momika protests outside a mosque in Stockholm on June 28, 2023, during the Eid al-Adha holiday. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Salwan Momika, a 38-year-old Iraqi refugee in Sweden infamous for burning the Quran, was shot dead in his apartment in Sodertalje city, Swedish state media reported on Thursday.
“A man was found shot in a home in Hovsjo in Sodertalje late on Wednesday … It is 38-year-old Salwan Momika, who has died from gunshot wounds,” Swedish state broadcaster SVT said.
An investigation is underway into the incident, and Swedish police have yet to confirm his death.
Stockholm police spokesperson Daniel Wikdahl said that one suspect has been taken in for questioning.
Momika first set the Quran alight twice in 2023 as a protest against Islam. The first time was outside a mosque in Stockholm and the second time was outside the Iraqi embassy. Momika received permission for both of his protests from Swedish authorities who said they fell under freedom of expression.
The desecration of the Quran sparked angry protests in Iraq and Muslim countries. Iraqi protesters stormed Stockholm’s embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023 and the Iraqi government expelled Sweden’s ambassador and recalled its charge d’affaires.
In August, a Swedish prosecutor charged Momika and another individual involved in burning the Quran with “agitation against an ethnic group.”
“A man was found shot in a home in Hovsjo in Sodertalje late on Wednesday … It is 38-year-old Salwan Momika, who has died from gunshot wounds,” Swedish state broadcaster SVT said.
An investigation is underway into the incident, and Swedish police have yet to confirm his death.
Stockholm police spokesperson Daniel Wikdahl said that one suspect has been taken in for questioning.
Momika first set the Quran alight twice in 2023 as a protest against Islam. The first time was outside a mosque in Stockholm and the second time was outside the Iraqi embassy. Momika received permission for both of his protests from Swedish authorities who said they fell under freedom of expression.
The desecration of the Quran sparked angry protests in Iraq and Muslim countries. Iraqi protesters stormed Stockholm’s embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023 and the Iraqi government expelled Sweden’s ambassador and recalled its charge d’affaires.
In August, a Swedish prosecutor charged Momika and another individual involved in burning the Quran with “agitation against an ethnic group.”
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