The Public Prosecutor in Sweden has opened an investigation against Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right "Hard Line" party, on charges of "hatred and incitement" after he burned a copy of the Holy Qur'an in Malmö last year.
The Public Prosecutor in Sweden has opened an investigation against Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right "Hard Line" party, on charges of "hatred and incitement" after he burned a copy of the Holy Qur'an in Malmö last year.
And the Swedish official news agency stated, on Friday, that the public prosecutor had opened an investigation against Paludan on charges of hatred and incitement because of the events that erupted after he burned a copy of the Holy Qur’an last April in Malmö.
Regarding criticism of the one-year delay in opening the investigation, Attorney General Adrian Comber-Hogg said that the collection of evidence took a long time, and the investigation began late for technical reasons.
Paludan continued his provocations of burning the Holy Qur’an in the cities of Malmö, Norrkoping, Jönköping and Stockholm during the Easter holidays 2022.
After that, demonstrations broke out calling for an end to the provocations in Al-Wadan, and demonstrators attacked the police with stones and set tires on the roads, and the incidents resulted in the injury of 104 policemen and 14 demonstrators.
On January 21, Paludan burned a copy of the Qur’an near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, under strict protection from the police, who prevented anyone from approaching him while he was committing a provocative act.
A few days later (on January 27), Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen, and in front of a mosque.
“There is a gap in our legislation.” Sweden: We will pass a law that prevents joining a terrorist organization
Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömer announced that the government had submitted a bill banning joining a terrorist organization to Parliament, Thursday, for a vote, and said, "I think this law is very important, and unfortunately there was a gap in our legislation and now we will fill it."
Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Stromer said that Stockholm will strengthen anti-terrorism legislation in the country through the new bill submitted by the government to Parliament.
This came in a statement to Anadolu Agency, on Friday, during Strommer's participation in the meeting of the European Union's justice ministers held in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
Stromer explained that a draft law banning joining a terrorist organization was submitted by the government to Parliament on Thursday, for a vote.
He added, "It was proposed to Parliament that the legislative changes enter into force on June 1, 2023. The bill means that we will prevent joining terrorist organizations."
He emphasized that his country had strengthened anti-terrorism legislation for many years.
Regarding the bill, he explained, "In general, what is considered a crime is supporting or strengthening the work of terrorists. Actions such as setting up camps, providing logistical support and transportation, and distributing food will be considered crimes if carried out with the aim of supporting a terrorist organization."
He pointed out that the new legislation will be implemented by the Swedish authorities and courts when it comes into effect.
"The new law will provide Sweden with a powerful new tool to prosecute those who support terrorism, and will put Swedish laws on an equal footing with those of our neighbours," Strommer said.
He concluded by saying, "I think this law is very important, and unfortunately there was a gap in our legislation and now we will fill it."
Yesterday, the Swedish chief negotiator responsible for the NATO accession file, Oscar Steinström, said that his country had intensified its measures against terrorism and the terrorist organization "PKK".
This came during a press conference held after the meeting of the joint mechanism formed according to the tripartite memorandum between Turkey, Sweden and Finland at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Steinström pointed out that the Swedish government has taken concrete steps regarding the terrorist organization "PKK", and that large organized crimes and their relationship to the financing of terrorism afflict his country.
He stated that the government submitted Thursday to the Swedish parliament a draft law on penalties, and that "the authorities have intensified their measures against terrorism and the PKK in particular."
It is worth noting that Turkey signed a tripartite memorandum with Sweden and Finland regarding the fight against terrorism, at the NATO summit in the Spanish capital, Madrid, on June 28, 2022.
Within the framework of the tripartite memorandum, a permanent joint mechanism was formed, which held its first meeting on August 26, 2022, in the Finnish city of Vantaa.
Ending the controversy over it The Georgian parliament rejects the "Foreign Agents" draft law
After its approval in the first reading, Georgian deputies voted on Friday in favor of rejecting the controversial "foreign agents" bill, which caused huge protests in the country.
On Friday, Georgian deputies rejected a controversial bill that opponents considered copied from a Russian law on classifying some organizations and the media as "foreign agents", which sparked mass opposition demonstrations this week.
During a parliamentary session, 35 of the 36 deputies who participated in the vote rejected the text in the second reading, after it was approved on Tuesday in the first reading, which sparked a movement of protests and a series of international condemnations.
The ruling party, the "Georgian Dream", announced Thursday the withdrawal of the draft law, due to the huge demonstrations and protests it triggered in the capital, Tbilisi, during which the police used tear gas canisters and water cannons to disperse the tens of thousands of demonstrators who gathered in front of Parliament.
Officially called the Foreign Influence Transparency Act, NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad are required to register as “foreign agents” under penalty of a fine.
According to its critics, this law is reminiscent of Russian legislation used by the Kremlin to suppress independent press, human rights organizations and its opponents.
While the ruling party considered that the bill was "presented on a bad day in a misleading way."