• The Malmö District Court sentenced far-right politician Rasmus Paludan to four months in prison for incitement against an ethnic group after burning the Quran.
• Prosecutors highlighted that Paludan’s actions were crossing the line into clear disrespect.
A Swedish court sentenced Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan to four months in prison for incitement against an ethnic group, following his incendiary anti-Islamic actions. This included burning the holy Qur’an and denigrating statements targeting Islam and its adherents.
Paludan, leader of the Danish nationalist Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, became the first individual tried and sentenced in Sweden for burning the Qur’an at an organised demonstration.
The Malmö District Court found him guilty of two counts of incitement against an ethnic group and one count of insult in connection with events from 2022. Paludan was also ordered to pay damages and fees totaling 80,800 kronor (£5,822).
Following Paludan’s recent trial, Chief Judge Nicklas Söderberg commented:
“It is permitted to publicly make critical statements about, for example, Islam and also about Muslims, but the disrespect of a group of people must not clearly cross the line for a factual and valid discussion.”
He emphasised that Paludan’s actions in this case “only amounted to insulting and smearing Muslims.” The judgment cited multiple statements Paludan had made, suggesting that Muslims “do not like western democracy and freedom of speech,” and alleging that Muslims “like to use violence as a means of communication.”
Prosecutor Adrien Combier-Hogg noted this was the first conviction “in this political context in Sweden” related to actions taken at a permitted protest. He remarked that the case sets a precedent for society’s understanding of what is permissible under freedom of expression laws, while stating “there is a complexity of such cases due to contextual factors.” Combier-Hogg added, “It’s really hard to say something black and white is OK or not OK because it depends on so many different factors and variables.”
The incidents in question include Quran burnings and remarks Paludan made in Malmo in April and September 2022, which led to rioting in various Swedish cities in April. During his defense, Paludan argued, “I am a critic of Islam and criticize Islam. Not Muslims,” adding that his focus was to challenge ideas, not individuals.
In early 2023, Paludan’s continued Quran-burning demonstrations, including one outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. This heightened diplomatic tensions with Muslim majority countries and reportedly complicated Sweden’s NATO accession process.
