STOCKHOLM: An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Qur'an last year said Wednesday he was leaving the country for neighboring Norway after Sweden revoked his residency permit.
Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qur'ans at a slew of protests in Sweden over the summer, told AFP that he had left Sweden and arrived in Norway, where he planned to seek asylum.
“I left Sweden because of the persecution I was subjected to by government institutions,” Momika said in a text message.
Momika’s Qur'an burnings sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in Muslim countries.
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
The Swedish government condemned the desecrations of the Qur'an but stressed the country’s laws regarding freedom of speech and assembly.
Sweden’s intelligence agency heightened its terror alert level in mid-August to four on a scale of five after the angry reactions made the country a “prioritized target.”
The Swedish Migration Agency revoked Momika’s residency permit in October, citing false information in his original application, but he was granted a temporary one as it said there were was an “impediment to enforcement” of a deportation to Iraq.
The month before, Iraq had requested his extradition over one of the Qur'an burnings.
“Sweden has become a threat to me after the decision to expel me and the threat to extradite me to Iraq,” Momika said.
Momika called Sweden’s freedom of expression and protection of human rights “a big lie.”
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Sweden Qur’an burner says leaving for Norway after residency permit revoked
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Sweden Qur’an burner says leaving for Norway after residency permit revoked
- Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qur'ans at a slew of protests in Sweden over the summer arrived in Norway, where he planned to seek asylum
- Momika’s Qur'an burnings sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in Muslim countries
Venezuela swears in 5,600 troops after US military build-up
CARACAS: The Venezuelan army swore in 5,600 soldiers on Saturday, as the United States cranks up military pressure on the oil-producing country.
President Nicolas Maduro has called for stepped-up military recruitment after the United States deployed a fleet of warships and the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
American forces have carried out deadly strikes on more than 20 vessels, killing at least 87.
Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” which it declared a terrorist organization last month.
Maduro asserts the American deployment aims to overthrow him and seize the country’s oil reserves.
“Under no circumstances will we allow an invasion by an imperialist force,” Col. Gabriel Rendon said Saturday during a ceremony at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, in Caracas.
According to official figures, Venezuela has around 200,000 troops and an additional 200,000 police officers.
A former opposition governor died in prison on Saturday where he had been detained on charges of terrorism and incitement, a rights group said.
Alfredo Diaz was at least the sixth opposition member to die in prison since November 2024.
They had been arrested following protests sparked by last July’s disputed election, when Maduro claimed a third term despite accusations of fraud.
The protests resulted in 28 deaths and around 2,400 arrests, with nearly 2,000 people released since then.
Diaz, governor of Nueva Esparta from 2017 to 2021, “had been imprisoned and held in isolation for a year; only one visit from his daughter was allowed,” said Alfredo Romero, director of the NGO Foro Penal, which defends political prisoners.
The group says there are at least 887 political prisoners in Venezuela.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado condemned the deaths of political prisoners in Venezuela during “post-electoral repression.”
“The circumstances of these deaths — which include denial of medical care, inhumane conditions, isolation, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment — reveal a sustained pattern of state repression,” Machado said in a joint statement with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate she believes won the election.
President Nicolas Maduro has called for stepped-up military recruitment after the United States deployed a fleet of warships and the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
American forces have carried out deadly strikes on more than 20 vessels, killing at least 87.
Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” which it declared a terrorist organization last month.
Maduro asserts the American deployment aims to overthrow him and seize the country’s oil reserves.
“Under no circumstances will we allow an invasion by an imperialist force,” Col. Gabriel Rendon said Saturday during a ceremony at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, in Caracas.
According to official figures, Venezuela has around 200,000 troops and an additional 200,000 police officers.
A former opposition governor died in prison on Saturday where he had been detained on charges of terrorism and incitement, a rights group said.
Alfredo Diaz was at least the sixth opposition member to die in prison since November 2024.
They had been arrested following protests sparked by last July’s disputed election, when Maduro claimed a third term despite accusations of fraud.
The protests resulted in 28 deaths and around 2,400 arrests, with nearly 2,000 people released since then.
Diaz, governor of Nueva Esparta from 2017 to 2021, “had been imprisoned and held in isolation for a year; only one visit from his daughter was allowed,” said Alfredo Romero, director of the NGO Foro Penal, which defends political prisoners.
The group says there are at least 887 political prisoners in Venezuela.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado condemned the deaths of political prisoners in Venezuela during “post-electoral repression.”
“The circumstances of these deaths — which include denial of medical care, inhumane conditions, isolation, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment — reveal a sustained pattern of state repression,” Machado said in a joint statement with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate she believes won the election.
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