The charges stem from statements Paludan made about Muslims, Arabs, and Africans, which the Swedish Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten) considers unlawful, the Swedish news bureau TT reported on Wednesday.

According to a press release from the Prosecutor’s Office, the charges relate to events that occurred in Malmö in April and September 2022.

“My assessment is that there are sufficient grounds to bring charges (against Paludan), and now the district court will consider the case,” senior prosecutor Adrien Combier-Hogg said in the press release.

Case background

During the Easter weekend of 2022, riots erupted in several Swedish cities after Paludan planned to burn Qurans in various locations across the country.

On April 16th, he had been granted permission to hold a public meeting in Landskrona, but the police later relocated the event to the outskirts of Malmö.

At this gathering, Paludan made several statements about Muslims, which the prosecution authorities believe constitute incitement against an ethnic group.

On September 6th of the same year, at another meeting in Malmö, Paludan made similar statements about Arabs and Africans, which were also deemed incitement against ethnic groups by the prosecutor.

Additionally, Paludan directed a series of messages at a person, which the prosecutor believes were intended to insult the person based on their skin colour, national, or ethnic origin.

For this, Paludan faces an additional charge of insult.

According to the Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 5, Section 3, anyone who makes accusations, disparaging statements, or engages in humiliating behavior toward another person can be convicted of insult in Sweden if the act is likely to harm the other person’s self-esteem or dignity.

ALSO READ: When does a Quran burning qualify as a hate crime in Sweden?

When contacted by TT shortly after the announcement, Paludan stated that he had yet to be informed of the indictment.

“I have not heard anything. What I can say is that I was interrogated in Denmark, and at that time, I denied any crime,” he said.

Previous controversy

In July of 2023, Turkey issued an arrest warrant for Paludan for setting a copy of the Quran on fire in Stockholm in January.

At that time, a Swedish prosecutor dropped an investigation into Paludan for alleged hate crimes related to the January burning.

The prosecutor explained to DN that the act “targeted a symbol of the religion and not the group [of Muslims] itself, even if people are offended. That distinction is important.”

In 2020, the police attempted to ban Paludan from entering Sweden. However, they had to retract the ban after it was revealed that Paludan was entitled to Swedish citizenship through his Swedish father.