Swedish police have reported that 104 officers were injured in the riots that took place across the country last week in reaction to Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan and his followers burning a Qur’an.
The 104 officers are said to have received varying injurie,s from fractures of hands and fingers to brain damage, as a result of attacks from rioters, some of whom attacked officers with rocks and stones.
“There is a large amount of injuries and reports that have been received. This is the worst I have seen,” Staffan Brandt, police and work environment specialist at the Swedish Police Authority’s HR department, told broadcaster SVT.
Another officer who experienced the riots firsthand told the broadcaster: “Without the protective equipment, I would have been seriously injured or even dead.”
Others stated that rocks and stones thrown at them had broken their shields and their protective helmets, with one officer receiving a concussion after the visor on his helmet cracked.
“I got glass in my eyes, mouth, nose, and I get shrapnel all over my uniform,” one officer wrote, while another said he “felt they wanted to kill or seriously injure us.”
Ebba Busch-Thor, leader of the Christian Democrats, questioned why police were not harsher on the rioters, saying: “Why don’t we have 100 wounded Islamists, 100 injured criminals, 100 injured insurgents?”
“We had people who took to stoning with the aim of killing Swedish police, with the aim of killing emergency services, with the aim of killing – in some cases – medical personnel,” she said, adding that the police leadership owed Swedes an explanation for their actions.
But Justice Minister Morgan Johansson slammed Busch-Thor’s comments, saying: “Ebba Busch criticizes the police for not causing a massacre this weekend. Isn’t she really smart? I am very proud of the Swedish police and what the police did this weekend under difficult conditions.”
“We should be grateful that it is Swedish police who handle these difficult situations, and not excited amateurs like Ebba Busch,” he added.
The riots, which began on the Thursday prior to Easter, took place over several days and in several cities including Linköping, Norrköping, the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby, and the city of Malmo.
Along with attacks on police and cars set on fire, three people were injured as a result of gunfire in Norrköping last weekend after police fired warning shots as they were being attacked by a mob. The shots ricocheted and hit three rioters, who were all later arrested for participating in the violence.
Swedish National Police Chief Anders Thornberg, meanwhile, blamed the violence on criminal gangs, saying: “These are not ordinary counter-protesters, we have strong suspicions that those who attack police and emergency services are connected to criminal gangs.”
Rasmus Paludan, the Danish anti-Islam politician whose Qur’an burning stunts are said to have sparked the riots, later stated his intentions to run for political office in Sweden.