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CRIME

Norway to deport Quran burner who caused uproar back to Sweden

An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year has been arrested in Norway and now faces deportation back to Sweden, according to court documents viewed by AFP on Thursday.

Salwan Momika protests outside a mosque in Stockholm
Norway will deport Salwan Momika back to Sweden. File photo: Salwan Momika protests outside a mosque in Stockholm. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)

Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qurans at a slew of protests in Sweden over the summer, told AFP last week that he had left Sweden for Norway, where he planned to seek asylum.

According to a ruling by the Oslo District Court, Momika was arrested on March 28th — a day after he arrived.

After a hearing on March 30th, the court decided to detain Momika for four weeks, awaiting a likely request from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to Sweden that he is returned, in accordance with EU legislation.

In the court’s ruling it said “a deportation will take place as soon as the formal and practical arrangements are in place.”

Police had requested that he would be detained in the meantime, citing the country’s migration law when it can be assumed that a foreign national will attempt to evade the implementation of a decision for him to leave the country.

Momika’s Quran burnings sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in Muslim countries.

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

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations of the Quran but stressed the country’s laws regarding freedom of speech and assembly.

Sweden’s intelligence agency heightened its terror alert level in mid-August to four on a scale of five after the angry reactions made the country a “prioritised target”.

The Swedish Migration Agency revoked Momika’s residency permit in October, citing false information in his original application, but he was granted a temporary one as it said there was an “impediment to enforcement” of a deportation to Iraq.

The month before, Iraq had requested his extradition over one of the Quran burnings.

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CRIME

Man shot dead in southern Stockholm in early hours of Monday

A man was shot dead on Monday morning in the Bredäng suburb, just a few hours after another shooting in southern Stockholm.

Man shot dead in southern Stockholm in early hours of Monday

Police were called out to the scene at around 5.30am, after a witness heard gunshots and saw a person on the ground.

The man, aged around 40, was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.

“Police are right now looking for a perpetrator or perpetrators,” police said in a statement, adding that they were investigating. “We will use police search dogs in our work and other investigative measures such as door knocking and interrogations are ongoing.”

Late on Sunday, another man was injured in a shooting in Flemingsberg, south of Stockholm. 

The state of his injuries was not immediately known and no arrests had been reported by the time of publication.

According to unconfirmed reports to the Aftonbladet tabloid, the man, aged around 60, was shot through the door after the shooter knocked on the door and said he had a food delivery.

He was, according to Aftonbladet, not believed to have been the intended victim, but a relative of his was the target of another recent shooting.

Police confirmed the shooting had happened “in connection to an apartment” when asked by the TT news agency.

It was not known on Monday morning whether the two incidents were connected.

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