Swedish Court Partially Acquits Activist in Controversial Koran-Burning Case

A Swedish appeals court ruled on Monday, partially acquitting Rasmus Paludan, a far-right activist convicted in 2022 of hate crimes against Muslims. The court suspended his four-month prison sentence and imposed a fine, finding he criticized Islam as an idea rather than targeting its followers.

During a period marked by public protests in Denmark and Sweden, anti-Islam activists, including Paludan, set fire to or damaged copies of the Koran, causing outrage in the Muslim world. Paludan, a citizen of both countries, repeatedly burned Islam's holy book in public demonstrations.

Swedish freedom of speech laws permit the burning of religious texts but prohibit inciting ethnic or national hatred. The appeals court noted Paludan's remarks from April 2022 primarily criticized the religion, which is not a punishable offense as incitement. However, his conviction for incitement against an ethnic group in a September 2022 incident was upheld.

(With inputs from agencies.)