Man who torched Holy Quran shot dead in Sweden

A man who repeatedly burnt the Holy Quran in 2023 in Sweden, sparking outrage in Muslim countries, has been shot dead, media reported Thursday as police confirmed a man died in a shooting the day before.

Swedish police said five suspects have been arrested after a man who sparked outrage in Muslim countries by repeatedly burning the Holy Quran was shot dead near Stockholm.

"Police arrested five people overnight. Prosecutors have detained them," a police statement said.

A Stockholm court was due to rule on Thursday whether Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Holy Quran at a slew of protests, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred.

It postponed the ruling until February 3, saying that "because Salwan Momika has died, more time is needed."

Police said in a statement they had been alerted to a shooting in the city of Sodertalje, where Momika lived.

The shooting occurred indoors and when police arrived they found a man who had been "hit by shots and the man was taken to hospital", the statement said.

In a later update, police said the man had died and a murder investigation had been opened.

Several media outlets identified the deceased as Momika, and reported that the shooting may have been broadcast live on social media.

In August, Momika, along with co-protester Salwan Najem, was charged with "agitation against an ethnic group" on four occasions in the summer of 2023.

According to the charge sheet, the duo desecrated the Holy Quran, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims -- on one occasion outside a Stockholm mosque.

Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair's protests.

Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.

In August of that year, Sweden's intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of five after the Koran burnings had made the country a "prioritised target".

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country's constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.

In October 2023, a Swedish court convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred with a 2020 Koran burning, the first time the country's court system had tried the charge for desecrating Islam's holy book.

Prosecutors have previously said that under Swedish law, the burning of a Holy Quran can be seen as a critique of the book and the religion, and thus be protected under free speech.

However, depending on the context and statements made at the time, it can also be considered "agitation against an ethnic group."