A far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan, has been convicted by a Swedish court to four months imprisonment over the charge of incitement against ethnicity and committing an ethnic vilification of Muslims.
This historic judgment is the first verdict where a person has been found guilty of and punished for burning the Quran during protests in Sweden, The Guardian reported.
Paludan, who leads the “Danish political party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), was found guilty of two instances of incitement and one count of insult stemming from his activities during protests in 2022. The Malmö district court determined that such conduct, which involved burning copies of the Qurans and making derogatory remarks towards Muslims, Arabs and Africans was not free expression of disapproval of Islamic beliefs but rather hate speech.
Chief councilor Nicklas Söderberg noted while criticism of religion is permissible, however, one must not cross into disrespect that defames an entire community.
Court ruling
During the judgment, the court stated that Paludan’s actions had been aimed at causing an outrage rather than actual debate. The judge said, “It is permissible to publicly criticize including Islam and even Muslims, but the disrespect towards a certain group of people shall, of course, not cross the line of a pertinent and responsible discourse.” The court also pointed out that Paludan had previously faced similar charges in Denmark and was found guilty of incitement of ethnic groups.
In April 2022, Paludan incited riots in Malmö, Landskrona, Linköping, and Örebro over the Easter weekend. During the meeting, he made several remarks that the prosecutor deemed as incitement to an ethnic group.
Paludan’s controversies
In September 2022, Paludan was charged with racially motivated harassment targeting “Arabs and Africans”. For this, he was charged with insult, a crime that according to Swedish laws attracts a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
Taking the stand remotely, Paludan said, “I oppose Islam and criticise. I am an Islamic critic. Not Muslims,” adding, “I want to reject ideas, not the persons.”
In the summer of 2023, a series of Quran burning protests took place in Sweden and a few of them were near the Parliament causing a national discussion on how Sweden has some of the most liberal laws in the world when it comes to freedom of speech. It also led to a diplomatic conflict between Sweden and Muslim countries.
Paludan burned the Qur’an outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm in January 2023 and this has reportedly contributed to slowing down Sweden’s process of joining NATO.
