The Swedish police interrogated the Iraqi refugee Silwan Monica, who had previously burned and desecrated a copy of the Qur’an, while his lawyer ruled out handing him over to Baghdad, which is demanding its return, because his act was not criminalized in both Sweden and Iraq.
The Swedish police investigated the Iraqi young man, Silwan Mumika, who has been causing anger in Arab and Islamic countries for weeks because of the burning of the Holy Qur’an, against the backdrop of a restitution request submitted by Baghdad.
The Iraqi refugee sparked anger around the world in June when he burned the Qur’an in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm on the first day of Eid al-Adha.
This led to a series of protest movements, the most violent of which was in Baghdad, where protesters set fire to the Swedish embassy building. Several countries also summoned Sweden's envoys to inform them of official protests.
Mumika said: “Iraq is requesting that I be extradited to be tried in Iraq under Sharia law because I burned the Qur’an in Sweden.”
His lawyer, David Hall, explained: “Iraq wants to extradite him because he burned the Qur’an in front of a mosque in June. According to the law, what he did should be a crime in both Sweden and Iraq.”
He added: "But this is not considered a crime in Sweden, so Sweden cannot extradite him" to Iraq.
He added: "I do not know why Iraq would embarrass itself by submitting such a request? I am confident that the Iraqi government knows that."
According to the lawyer, the public prosecutor in charge of the case must ask the Supreme Court to decide on the extradition request, noting that this process could take weeks or months.
Iraq had expelled the Swedish ambassador to Baghdad and suspended the license of the Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson in the country.
The Swedish government condemned burning a copy of the Qur’an , but stressed that the country’s laws guarantee freedom of expression and assembly and therefore it could not deny these movements a license.
Sweden confirms that it is studying legal options to prevent actions that include burning texts in certain circumstances.
Gaza Strip : 4 Palestinians were killed as a result of an explosion east of Gaza
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced on Wednesday that 4 Palestinians were killed and 19 injured in an explosion east of Gaza City.
She said in a statement that the total number of victims of the explosion is “4 martyrs and 19 injuries, including serious injuries that medical teams are still dealing with at Al-Shifa Medical Complex.”
This comes after the Israeli army dispersed a demonstration of dozens of young men near the separation fence east of Gaza, which coincided with a speech festival organized by the factions in the city on the anniversary of the announcement of the Oslo Accords in 1993, and Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Earlier Wednesday, the Ministry of Health announced that several injuries occurred as a result of the Israeli army dispersing the demonstration, and firing rubber bullets and tear gas bombs.
Hurricane "Daniel" arrived in Gaza in the form of heavy rains, drowning homes, but causing no casualties
Houses and buildings were flooded in Gaza after Hurricane Daniel reached the Palestinian territories, while the Civil Defense Authority carried out dozens of missions in conjunction with its announcement of raising the level of readiness of its crews to prepare for all the events necessary to deal with them.
The homes of citizens in Gaza were flooded with water, as a result of the rain that fell for several continuous hours in the Strip since dawn on Wednesday.
Weather forecaster Laith Al-Alami confirmed that Hurricane Daniel, which struck Libya on Sunday, arrived in Palestine at dawn on Wednesday, in the form of a state of air instability.
He added: "This hurricane lost much of its strength during its path to Egypt and arrived in Palestine in the form of a state of atmospheric instability."
He revealed that the weather instability was accompanied by rain and a drop in temperature by about 4-6 degrees.
He explained that this hurricane ends in the Palestinian territories in the form of unstable weather conditions, pointing out that it will fade away within the next few hours.
Activists on social media platforms posted video clips showing some homes being damaged as a result of being submerged in rainwater.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense Service in Gaza, said, “Crews dealt with dozens of missions in Gaza as a result of the depression that struck the Strip since dawn on Wednesday.”
He explained that the Civil Defense, since the beginning of talk about the hurricane heading to Gaza, announced “raising the level of readiness of its working crews to prepare for all the events necessary to deal with it.”
For its part, the Palestinian Meteorology Department warned citizens of “the chance of torrential rains forming in some valleys and low-lying areas while the country is affected by weather instability.”
On Sunday, the Mediterranean Hurricane “Daniel” swept through several areas in eastern Libya, most notably the cities of Benghazi, Al-Bayda, and Al-Marj, in addition to Sousse and Derna, where it caused the death of 6,000 people in addition to thousands of missing people, most of them in Derna, with an infinite toll.
A UN report documents violations and violence by the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in northern Syria
A report issued by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria stated that about 52,000 people are subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment in the Al-Hawl and Al-Roj camps, which are under the control of the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in northeastern Syria.
A United Nations report revealed that about 52,000 people are subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment in the Al-Hawl and Al-Roj camps, which are under the control of the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in northeastern Syria.
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria issued a report on Tuesday, warning of “the worsening suffering of Syrians due to fighting and unrest on many fronts, in addition to the severe economic deterioration and the continuation of human rights violations and attacks.”
In a press statement, the Committee reiterated “the need for States to review unilateral coercive measures and their impact on Syrian civilians and on humanitarian actors, especially due to their exaggerated nature.”
She stressed "the need for the constructive measures adopted to ease sanctions after the earthquake (last February) to remain in place. She also called for an urgent review of the process of delivering humanitarian assistance and its effectiveness, given the urgent existing needs."
The report documented “the unjustified obstruction by the Syrian regime and other parties of the arrival of life-saving aid following the devastating earthquakes in February, in addition to the continued bombing of targets in the area affected by the earthquake.”
The report documented 15 attacks in the area affected by the earthquake, “many of which may rise to the level of war crimes.”
Suspected attacks launched by Israel led to basic transportation infrastructure being put out of service, with accompanying repercussions affecting humanitarian operations, according to the report.
The committee’s report said, “The past weeks have also witnessed an increase in the conflict in Greater Idlib, which led to the displacement of thousands, as well as the killing of dozens in Deir ez-Zor, in addition to large-scale demonstrations, demanding economic, social, civil, and political rights in areas under the regime’s control, especially in "Suwayda."
The report indicated that the parties to the conflict continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity by arresting, torturing and executing civilians and subjecting them to enforced disappearance in areas under the control of those parties.
The committee renewed its call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Syria, and for independent observers to access all places of detention.
In the Al-Hawl and Al-Roj camps, the committee documented the existing conditions “which still amount to cruel and inhuman treatment and an attack on human dignity, affecting approximately 52,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children, who have been detained for nearly five years in those places.”
The two camps include families of ISIS terrorist organization members, and are located in areas occupied by the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in northeastern Syria.
In response to a question about the PKK/YPG terrorists’ use of force and their killing of a large number of Arab tribal members in Deir ez-Zor, the head of the investigation committee, Sergio Pinheiro, said that the committee monitored the actions of the various parties within the scope of the report and focused on the PKK/YPG in northeastern Syria.
Pineiro pointed out that the committee also provided information in previous reports about the detention and torture practices carried out by the organization, and that the recent report includes a focused examination of the situation in the Al-Hawl and Al-Roj camps.
He stated that the two camps include about 52,000 people, most of whom are women and children, and more than 10,000 people facing charges of association with ISIS.
He explained that the recent report, like previous reports, includes important evidence regarding the crimes committed, indicating the need to take measures to prevent them.