Unrest Continues in Sweden Amid Rasmus Paludan's Quran-Burning Plans
© AFP 2023 / KICKI NILSSON
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Riots erupted in Sweden earlier this week ahead of a rally of the right-wing Hard Line party led by Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan.
On Saturday, unrest broke out in the southern Swedish town of Landskrona as Rasmus Paludan's right-wing Hard Line party was planning to burn a Quran, according to ABC News.
The protests in the city broke out despite police moving the event from Landskrona to Malmo as a preventive measure.
According to police, protesters pulled out trash cans and car tires and then set them on fire. Activists also put up a barrier fence that obstructed traffic and threw stones at the police. By late Saturday, the situation in Landskrona had calmed down, with police reporting no injuries.
#Danimarkalı aşırı sağcı Sıkı Yön Partisi (Stram Kurs) lideri Rasmus Paludan'ın, İsveç'in başkenti Stockholm'de Kur'an-ı Kerim'i yakmasına tepki gecikmedi
— Halkın Portalı (@turanordus) April 16, 2022
Paludan'a tepki gösteren grup ile polis arasında çatışma yaşandı#Sweden #protests pic.twitter.com/DwWHXFYOuX
At the same time, a Hard Line demonstration took place on Saturday evening in a central park in Malmo. According to reports, a number of counter-protesters gathered near the event site, throwing stones at demonstrators, with police being forced to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Paludan was reportedly hit by a stone on his leg during the rally.
On Friday, during riots, 12 police officers were injured and several patrol cars were set on fire in Orebro. Prior to that, eight people were detained in the Rinkeby suburb of Stockholm during similar protests.
#BREAKING #SWEDEN #SUÈDE
— loveworld (@LoveWorld_Peopl) April 15, 2022
🔴SWEDEN: VIOLENT PROTESTS IN OREBRO, CENTRAL SWEDEN!
Counter-protesters demonstrating against a far-right group’s intention to burn a Koran in #Orebro clashed with police on Friday, leaving 4 police officers injured.#BreakingNews #Protests #Protesta pic.twitter.com/76IiuC7ZzU
Clashes have been reported in Sweden since Thursday after Rasmus Paludan's party announced plans to hold an anti-Islam rally and burn a Quran.
The Hard Line party was founded by Paludan in 2017. He is known for numerous anti-Islamic videos on YouTube. The politician publicly burned a copy of the Quran, calling it a tribute to freedom of speech. His party demands a ban on Islam and the deportation of all "non-Western asylum seekers" from Denmark.
