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Swedish court issues arrest warrant in absentia for anti-Islam activist

Friday, 05 May 2023 9:47 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 05 May 2023 9:53 AM ]

Rasmus Paludan burned copies of the Holy Quran in the past few months, fueling anger and condemnation in the Muslim world.

A Swedish court has issued an arrest warrant for Rasmus Paludanan, an infamous Danish-Swedish activist, who has been involved in desecrating Islamic sanctities in the past few months.

Paludan, who is the founder of the anti-Islam party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) in Denmark and Sweden, burned several copies of Muslims' religious book, the Holy Quran, during various demonstrations, including the one held outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm earlier this year.

Media reports said on Friday that Paludan, who works as a lawyer and is presently in Denmark, will be arrested upon entry to Sweden by border police.

The Malmo Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for Paludan, who is notorious for his Quran-burning provocations and contacts with underage children among other things, on suspicion of “several crimes,” Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported.

The far-right Paludan, who advocates for the complete deportation of immigrants from non-Western countries and a ban on Islam, has in the past called for the genocide of Muslims.

"The best thing that could happen would be not to have a single Muslim left on our dear Earth," Danish media reportedly quoted Paludan as saying on a video during a visit to the United States

He was investigated a couple of months ago for “incitement against a group of people, insult and gross assault against an official,” Aftonbladet added.

More recently, Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 21 with police protection and permission from Swedish authorities.

The following week, he again burned a copy of Islam's holy book in front of a mosque in Denmark and said he would repeat the act every Friday until Sweden was included in NATO.

Turkey says it does not support Sweden’s NATO bid over Quran sacrilege

The president was addressing the representatives of the Justice and Development Party in parliament.

Media reported the prosecutor of the case, Adrien Combier-Hogg, as saying that the delay in processing the charges filed against Paludan has been due to technical reasons.

Paludan has dismissed the charges against him. However, he claimed he would not go to Sweden to be questioned because of security concerns despite Swedish police guaranteeing his safety.

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