Danish activist Rasmus Paludan has been sentenced to four months in prison in Sweden over alleged comments made during Qur’an burning protests.
Paludan, the anti-Islamification leader of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party in Denmark, was found guilty of “incitement against an ethnic group” by the district court in the multicultural Swedish city of Malmö. He strongly denies even having said what was alleged in court, and states the prosecution instead produced their own paraphrases and interpretations, and that he will be appealing the ruling.
The activist was indicted over two separate instances in April and September of 2022, Sweden’s Expressen newspaper reports.
According to the court, Paludan is said to have “wrapped bacon in and around a Koran and then set fire to, kicked and spat on the Qur’an” during the April demonstration. He is also accused of disrespecting different ethnic groups.
He was accused of saying “that Muslims like to use violence”, “that Muslims create unrest and disharmony,” and “that Arabs, Muslims and Africans are not intelligent”.
At the September protest, Paludan is said to have told a man to “go home to Africa” and that “Africans do not belong in Sweden”.
In a statement reported by DW, Judge Nicklas Söderberg said of the ruling: “It is permissible to publicly criticize, for example, Islam and even Muslims, but the contempt for a group of people must clearly not exceed the limits of a relevant and responsible discourse.”
“In these cases, there was no such discourse. Instead, the statements were merely intended to defame and insult Muslims,” he added.
The Danish activist has steadfastly denied saying such remarks and has vowed to appeal his four-month prison sentence. On top of jail time, Paludan was ordered to pay SEK 20,000 ($1,840/£1,430) to the man he allegedly insulted.
Commenting on the verdict, Paludan said: “Hahahaha… We will appeal this. It was expected.”
He argued that the court did not present exact quotes of his supposedly disparaging remarks but rather based its rulings on interpretations of what he said.
“What they think I meant are not things I would say. Because if I thought so, I would just say so,” Paludan said.
The Qur’an burning protests from the Danish activist sparked widespread rage from the Islamic world, including violent riots in Sweden and abroad.
The controversy surrounding the issue also drove a wedge between Sweden and NATO as the Scandinavian country sought to enter into the American-led military alliance.
Although Paludan’s native Denmark decided to ban Qur’an burnings last year, it is still legal in Sweden under free speech.
However, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer has argued that the act increases the likelihood of terrorism, and therefore, the government should consider introducing a ban on the practice as well.