Denmark Far-right politician sentenced in Sweden

An extreme right-wing and Islamophobic politician and provocateur has been sentenced to four months in prison in Sweden for incitement to hatred.

Malmö District Court announced that the 42-year-old from Denmark would be prosecuted for inciting hatred against a population group at two gatherings in the southern Swedish city in 2022, as well as for insulting people.

The court considered it proven that the politician Rasmus Paludan had expressed his contempt for Muslims, among others, during the incidents two years ago - his actions could not be excused as criticism of Islam or political campaigning. According to the report, he also burned copies of the Koran during the actions. Paludan told the Swedish news agency TT that the verdict would be appealed.

Quran burnings had caused major diplomatic trouble for Sweden in the summer of 2023 and further complicated the country's already bumpy path into NATO at the time. Many of the desecrations of Islam's holy scriptures at the time were the fault of another man. However, Paludan had already repeatedly caused trouble and unrest with very similar actions in previous years, first with Koran burnings in Denmark, then in Sweden. He has previously been convicted of similar offenses in Denmark.

SDA