Quran Desecrator Rasmus Paludan Escapes Full Conviction in Sweden

IQNA – The conviction of Rasmus Paludan, a far-right Danish-Swedish politician who has desecrated the Holy Quran several times, was suspended by a Swedish court.

The Swedish appeals court on Oct 6 partially acquitted Paludan, who had been convicted in 2022 of hate crimes against Muslims over statements he made whilst burning the Quran, and suspended his four-month prison sentence.

The Skane and Blekinge appeal court acquitted Rasmus Paludan of one of two charges, ruling he had criticized Islam as an idea, and not its followers. It suspended his sentence and fined him 50 daily fines of 50 crowns (S$6.90).

Denmark and Sweden were at the time experiencing a series of public protests where lone anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Quran, prompting outrage in the Muslim world and demands that the Nordic governments ban such acts.

A citizen of both Denmark and Sweden, Paludan has several times set Islam’s Holy Book on fire in public, on occasion also draping it in bacon.

While burning religious texts is permitted under Sweden’s freedom of speech legislation, agitation against an ethnic or national group, such as insulting and offending Muslims, can be a violation of the law.

According to the appeal court, Paludan’s statements from April 2022 could be interpreted as statements criticizing religion, which it said is not punishable as incitement against an ethnic group.

“In light of the fact that the politician criticized Islam as an idea during other parts of the gathering, it is not obvious... that the statements in question should be interpreted in such a way that the message was to criticize Muslims as a group,” the court said.

Source: straitstimes.com