STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors on Thursday sought the arrest a young Syrian man for killing Salwan Momika, who repeatedly burned copies of the Qur'an in 2023 and sparked outrage in the Muslim world.
Momika, an Iraqi Christian, was shot on January 29 in an apartment in Sodertalje, south of Stockholm. He died soon after in hospital.
“We have a clear picture of the sequence of events, and following extensive technical investigations and a review of the collected surveillance footage, we have requested that a person be remanded in custody,” senior prosecutor Rasmus Oman said in a statement.
Oman added that “at present, the whereabouts of the suspect are unknown.”
A court hearing will be held on Friday.
According to documents filed with the Sodertalje district court, the suspect was a 24-year-old Syrian man.
The prosecutor said the suspect “killed Salwan Momika by shooting him several times with a handgun,” adding that the murder had been extensively planned.
Five men were originally arrested just hours after the shooting but were all released two days later.
They were formally dismissed as suspects in March.
Momika was killed just hours before a Stockholm court was due to rule whether he and co-defendant Salwan Najem were guilty of inciting ethnic hatred.
After Momika’s murder, the Stockholm court postponed its ruling for several days.
It ultimately convicted 50-year-old Najem, also of Iraqi origin, of inciting ethnic hatred during four Qur'an burnings in 2023. There was no ruling on Momika.
Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair’s actions.
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires in the compound on the second occasion.
In August 2023, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of one to five, saying the Qur'an burnings had made the country a “prioritized target.”
Sweden seeks arrest of Qur’an burner’s suspected murderer
https://arab.news/8b9by
Sweden seeks arrest of Qur’an burner’s suspected murderer
- Momika, an Iraqi Christian, was shot on January 29 in an apartment in Sodertalje, south of Stockholm
- According to documents filed with the Sodertalje district court, the suspect was a 24-year-old Syrian man
‘Today’ show’s Savannah Guthrie pleads for safe return of missing mother
- TV news host asks presumed captors to ‘reach out’ to family
- ‘We need to know … that she is alive,’ Guthrie says
TUCSON, Arizona: Popular US morning news anchor Savannah Guthrie posted a video message on Wednesday addressing anyone who might be holding her missing elderly mother, presumed abducted from her Arizona home this week, pleading for them to open a line of communication.
“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us,” the co-host of NBC’s “Today” show said in the video message posted to Instagram.
The emotional appeal came three days after Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home at the edge of Tucson by family members in what investigators said they believe was an abduction.
It coincided with a two-hour flurry of intense police activity at Nancy Guthrie’s home, where yellow crime-scene tape was strung up around the property for the first time this week and investigators were seen coming and going from the house.
FBI agents are assisting in the investigation.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, who appeared with her brother and sister in the video, said the family had heard media reports of a ransom note but was taking into account the fact that electronic images can be easily manipulated or faked.
The elder Guthrie was last seen on January 31 when she was dropped off at her home by relatives after having dinner with them, and she was reported missing the following day.
‘Her health is fragile’
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the elder Guthrie had limited mobility and could not have left her home unassisted, and that her disappearance was being treated by investigators as a kidnapping.
Among other concerns for Nancy Guthrie’s well-being was that her health was dependent on daily medication.
“Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer,” Savannah Guthrie said during the four-minute video.
The TV journalist, who has been co-anchor of “Today” since 2012, began Wednesday’s Instagram message thanking supporters for the outpouring of prayers.
“We feel them, and we continue to believe that she feels them too. Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She’s funny, spunky and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.
In an update on the case issued earlier in the day, the sheriff said investigators had yet to identify any suspect or person of interest in connection with the presumed abduction. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday.
Nanos said investigators were aware of reports that some media outlets had received what appeared to be ransom notes, but he did not say whether those were being taken seriously.
US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had spoken with Savannah Guthrie to let her know that all federal law enforcement would be at the “complete disposal” of the family and local investigators.
“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely,” Trump wrote, adding, “GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY!”
