Swedish police arrested more than ten people on Sunday September 3 after scenes of violence in Malmö, in the south of the country, following a gathering during which, once again, a copy of the Koran was burned.

Sunday’s rally, organized by Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, instigated by similar events that have angered the Muslim world, took place in Malmö in a square where a large immigrant population lives. According to the public television channel SVT, some 200 people came to watch the scene.

“Spectators showed their emotion after the organizer burned the writings,” the police said. “The atmosphere was stormy,” continued the same source, specifying that “violent riots” broke out at 1:45 p.m.

According to the police, the rally ended after the departure of the organizer, but a group of individuals remained behind. A dozen people were arrested for disturbing public order and two others arrested on suspicion of having participated in violent riots.

Terrorist alert level raised

According to the media, spectators threw stones at Salwan Momika. A video shows protesters trying to cross the police line before being stopped by the latter. Another video shows a man trying to stop the police vehicle carrying Mr. Momika to get him off the scene.

At the end of July, Salwan Momika, 37, and another man, Salwan Naja, trampled on a copy of the Quran in Stockholm before setting it on fire, as they had done in previous rallies that sparked riots. diplomatic tensions between Sweden and Middle Eastern countries.

The Swedish government has condemned the desecrations of the Koran while stressing that the Constitution of Sweden protects the right of assembly and freedom of expression.

Iraqi protesters attacked the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July, starting a fire inside the diplomatic mission during the second assault.

In mid-August, the Swedish Security Service announced that it had raised the terrorist alert level to 4 on a scale of 5, the strong reactions aroused abroad by the desecrations of the Koran on Swedish soil making the country a “priority target”. At the beginning of August, Sweden decided to tighten border controls.

Neighboring Denmark, where public desecrations of the Koran have also taken place, has announced that it is considering banning burnings of the holy book of Muslims. Sweden is considering legal ways to do this too.