Salwan Momika, an Iraqi man who sparked outrage by staging Koran-burning protests in Sweden in 2023, has been shot dead, according to Swedish authorities.
A spokesperson for Sweden’s prosecutor’s office confirmed that Momika was shot dead in the capital city Stockholm on Wednesday.
Stockholm police said that five people had been arrested on Wednesday night on suspicion of murder.
Momika was on Thursday set to be handed a verdict in a trial where he was accused of incitement to racial hatred, Goran Lundahl, a lawyer for Stockholm’s District Court, said This sentencing has now been postponed.
In 2023, Momika told CNN that he had come to Sweden from Iraq in 2018.
He said he had carried out the demonstrations because he believed the Koran “should be banned in the world because of the danger it causes to democracy, ethics, human values, human rights, and women’s rights. It just doesn’t work in this time and age.”
Swedish authorities had at first attempted to prevent Momika from staging protests by denying him a police permit to demonstrate. This decision was later overturned by Stockholm’s Court of Appeals, citing freedom of speech.
An account on X purporting to be Momika regularly posted updates on his trial this year to more than 230,000 followers. The account also regularly posted anti-Islam sentiments.
Earlier this month, the account was asking for donations to go towards a lawyer, who would reportedly help Momika gain asylum in the US.
A prosecutor will now be in charge of investigating the murder, the Stockholm police spokesperson said.
Security services will also be involved in the investigation, as there is a risk that Momika’s murder could be linked to foreign powers, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday, according to public broadcaster SVT.
