An Iraqi man who made several burns of the Koran in Sweden was killed

Stockholm (AP) – An Iraqi man who Performed several burns of the Koran In Sweden has died, a judge said in Stockholm on Thursday. The Swedish media reported that he had been killed during a shooting in a neighboring town.

Salwan Mamika, 38, staged Several burns and profanations From the sacred book of Islam in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Koran burns obtained global advertising and raised anger and criticism in several Muslim nations, leading to riots and disorders in many places.

The district court of Stockholm said that a verdict had scheduled for Thursday in a trial in which Mamika was a defendant was postponed because one of the accused had died. A court judge, Göran Lundahl, confirmed that the deceased was Mamika. He said he had no information when and how Mamika died.

The police said that they had been alerted during a shooting on Wednesday evening in an apartments building in Sodustalje, near Stockholm, and found a man suffering from ball injury. He died later and a preliminary murder investigation was opened.

The SVT diffuser reported, without naming sources, that the victim was Mamika. He said Mamika came to Sweden from Iraq in 2018 and obtained a three -year residence permit in 2021.

The prosecutors said five people had been arrested overnight, the Swedish news agency TT reported.

Prime Minister ULF KrisSSON said that the Sweden Security Service was involved because “there is obviously a risk that there is a link with a foreign power”, according to TT.

Mamika argued that her protests aimed at the religion of Islam, not Muslims. He argued that he wanted to protect the Swedish population from messages from the Koran. Swedish police granted their demonstrations, citing freedom of expressionWhile depositing charges against him.

Last March, he was arrested in neighboring Norway, after declaring that he would seek asylum there and was sent back to Sweden, TT reported.

Mamika and a co-defender were charged in August in incitement to hatred due to the statements they made in the context of the Koran burns. A verdict was to be returned Thursday morning.