An Iraqi refugee and anti-Islam campaigner was shot dead in Sweden on Thursday, hours before he was due to receive a court verdict following a trial over burning the Holy Quran, leading to the arrest of five people.
The five were arrested in connection with the incident late on Wednesday and ordered detained by a prosecutor, Swedish police said on their website. They did not say if the shooter was among those detained.
The court was due to rule on whether Salwan Momika, 38, who burned copies of the Holy Quran at a slew of protests, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred.
It postponed the ruling until February 3, saying that “because Salwan Momika has died, more time is needed.”
Police said in a statement they had been alerted to a shooting in the city of Sodertalje, where Momika lived.
The shooting occurred indoors and when police arrived they found a man who had been “hit by shots and the man was taken to hospital”, the statement said.
In a later update, police said the man had died and a murder investigation had been opened.
Several media outlets identified the deceased as Momika and reported that the shooting may have been broadcast live on social media.
In August, Momika, along with co-protester Salwan Najem, was charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.
According to the charge sheet, the duo desecrated the Holy Quran, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims — on one occasion outside a Stockholm mosque.
