Copenhagen (EFE)
The burning of a copy of the Koran last January in front of the Turkish Embassy by the Danish-Swedish far-right Rasmus Paludan provoked a wave of protests abroad, including Turkey, which maintains the blockade on the ratification of Sweden’s entry into NATO , approved a year ago at the Madrid summit.
Legal but not “suitable”
The Swedish Police decided to deny permission in February to two requests to burn the Koran, alluding to the risks that acts of this type could pose to Sweden’s security, but the Justice rejected that argument in several instances in subsequent months.
“The problems of order and security to which the Police refer do not have a sufficiently clear link with the meetings planned to reject the permit,” an administrative appeal court said in a ruling earlier this month.
The burning of the Koran has been requested by a person of Iraqi origin residing in Sweden and will take place at 1:30 p.m. local time (11:30 GMT) in the popular Medborgarplats of the Swedish capital, in the midst of a strong police presence, and on a day in which Muslim believers around the world celebrate on Eid al Adha or the festival of sacrifice
“It is legal, but not ideal,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said today in reference to the act, who did not want to speculate on Turkey’s possible reactions and the consequences for Sweden’s entry into NATO.