(Stockholm) Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden and author of several desecrations of the Koran, was questioned on Tuesday by the Swedish police as part of a request for extradition by Iraq, Mr. Momika and his lawyer said on Tuesday. the AFP.
“Iraq is requesting my extradition so that I can be tried in Iraq under Islamic law, because I burned the Koran in Sweden,” he said.
Salwan Momika sparked a wave of international outrage in June, burning and trampling the Koran in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world.
Reacting to his gesture, demonstrators briefly entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
“Iraq wants him extradited because he burned a Koran in front of a mosque in June. But the law states that to be extradited, it must be a crime both in Sweden and in Iraq,” his lawyer, David Hall, told AFP.
“But it is not a crime in Sweden, so it is not possible for Sweden to extradite him,” he added after his client’s hearing.
“I don’t know why Iraq bothers with such a request. I am convinced that the Iraqi government knows this,” he said.
According to the lawyer, the prosecutor responsible for the case should turn to the Supreme Court which will decide on this extradition request. Such a process can take several weeks to several months, according to David Hall.
Mr. Momika assured that he would “file a complaint against Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, because he committed a political crime against me”, in reference to this extradition request.
After a new desecration of the Koran in July, Iraq ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador to Baghdad and the suspension of the license of the Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson in the country.
The Swedish government has condemned the desecration of the Koran, but emphasizes the predominance of freedom of speech and assembly on its soil.
Sweden decided in mid-August to raise its terrorist alert level, estimating that the threat of attacks “will persist for a long time”.
The government is studying legal means to ban demonstrations during which religious books are desecrated, but it is not certain of finding a majority to change its legislation on the subject.