STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s prosecutors on Tuesday accused Iran’s intelligence service of hacking an SMS operator in 2023 to send messages encouraging people to take revenge on protesters who had burned the Qur’an.
Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said in a statement that some 15,000 messages “calling for revenge against Qur’an burners” had been sent in the summer of 2023, following a slew of protests involving desecrations of the Qur’an.
“The aim was to create division in Swedish society,” the authority said.
In a separate statement, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo said it had determined that a hacker group had acted “on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to carry out an influence campaign.”
“The aim was, among other things, to paint the picture of Sweden as an Islamophobic country, Fredrik Hallstrom, chief of operations at Sapo, said in a statement.
On August 1, 2023, Swedish media reported that a large number of people had received text messages calling for revenge against people who had burned the Muslim holy book, the authority noted.
According to prosecutors, an investigation had shown that a group called Anzu team was behind the operation, adding that the investigation had been closed, as it was deemed unlikely that it would be possible to bring the suspects to justice.
“Since the actors are acting on behalf of a foreign power, in this case Iran, our assessment is that the conditions necessary to bring charges abroad or an extradition to Sweden are missing for those suspected of being behind the attack,” senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said.
In August last year, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of five after a series of protests that included Qur’an burnings had made the country a “prioritized target.”
Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the protests which were concentrated over the summer of 2023.
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July of that year, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.
Sweden says Iran behind 2023 hacker attack that urged revenge for Qur’an burning
https://arab.news/zuhsu
Sweden says Iran behind 2023 hacker attack that urged revenge for Qur’an burning
- Some 15,000 messages “calling for revenge against Qur’an burners” had been sent in the summer of 2023
US warns UK to stop arresting Palestine Action supporters
- Undersecretary of state for diplomacy: Arrests doing ‘more harm than good’ and ‘censoring’ free speech
- Group was banned in July 2025 after series of break-ins
LONDON: UK authorities should stop arresting protesters showing support for banned group Palestine Action, the White House has warned.
The US undersecretary of state for diplomacy said arrests are doing “more harm than good” and are “censoring” free speech.
Sarah Rogers told news site Semafor: “I would have to look at each individual person and each proscribed organization. I think if you support an organization like Hamas, then depending upon whether you’re coordinating, there are all these standards that get applied.
“This Palestine Action group, I’ve seen it written about. I don’t know what it did. I think if you just merely stand up and say, ‘I support Palestine Action’, then unless you are really coordinating with some violent foreign terrorist, I think that censoring that speech does more harm than good.”
So far, more than 2,000 people have been arrested in the UK for showing support for the group.
It was banned in July 2025 after a series of break-ins nationwide, including at a facility owned by a defense manufacturer and a Royal Air Force base, during which military aircraft were damaged.
Last year, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those arrested while protesting for Palestine Action.
The group is challenging its ban, saying it should not be compared to terrorist organizations such as the Irish Republican Army, Daesh or Al-Qaeda.
The ban has been criticized by numerous bodies, with Amnesty International calling it a case of “problematic, overly broad and draconian restrictions on free speech.”
In Scotland, prosecutors have been offering to drop charges against some protesters in return for accepting a fine of £100 ($134.30).
Adam McGibbon, who was arrested at a demonstration in Edinburgh last year, refused the offer, saying: “The fact that the authorities are offering fines equivalent to a parking ticket for a ‘terrorism offence’ shows just how ridiculous these charges are. Do supporters of (Daesh) get the same deal?
“I refuse to pay this fine, as has everyone else I know who has been offered one. Just try and put all 3,000 of us who have defied this ban so far in jail.”
Rogers said the UK is also wrong to arrest people using the phrase “globalize the intifada” while demonstrating in support of Palestine, after police in Manchester said in December that it would detain people chanting it.
“I’m from New York City where thousands of people were murdered by jihadists,” she said. referring to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “I don’t want an intifada in New York City, and I think anyone who does is disgusting, but should it be legal to say in most contexts? Yes.”
