Koran burning trial against Momika postponed after his murder

The incitement to racial hatred trial against Salwan Momika has been postponed after his murder. This was announced by the Stockholm District Court in a press release.

The trial against Momika and another Quran burner, Salwan Najem, was scheduled to be announced by the Stockholm District Court at 11:00 today. However, the trial has been postponed to Monday. The reason is that Momika was shot to death in Södertälje yesterday evening.

“Since it has been confirmed that one of the accused has died, the verdict must be adjusted as it is not possible to convict a deceased person. Therefore, the verdict is postponed. A decision in the case will be announced on Monday, February 3 at 11:00,” the Stockholm District Court wrote in a press release.

Accused of “desecrating the Quran”

Momika and Najem were charged at the end of August last year for four cases of incitement to racial hatred. In her indictment, prosecutor Anna Hankkio argues that Momika “desecrated the Quran”.

Hankkio consistently chooses to write the Quran with a capital letter at the beginning of the word, except in one instance where Momika’s disrespectful handling of the Muslim document is referenced.

Earlier the same month, Rasmus Paludan was also charged with incitement to racial hatred in an offensive against known Quran burners. In November, the Malmö District Court announced its verdict, where the court ruled that the Danish-Swedish provocateur had “slandered Islam”.

Samnytt has previously interviewed both Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem on several occasions. The first interview was conducted with Momika in February 2023, several months before he burned the Quran for the first time.