Three people were injured and there were further riots in Sweden on Sunday as people expressed their anger at police authorization of far-right marches.
Riots broke out and a bus was set on fire over the weekend amid several rallies organized by right-wing extremists.
Police in the southern town of Norrköpping confirmed that they had fired warning shots into a crowd of people. Three people were injured the Swedish broadcaster SVT reported late on Sunday evening. More than 25 people were arrested, and the police confirmed that they had come under attack.
Riots in Sweden:
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) April 17, 2022
- Riots erupted in multiple cities in Sweden after politician Rasmus Paludan organized anti-Islam rallies
- Today marks the 4th day of protests against the rallies
- Riots are occurring in Orebro, Stockholm, Malmo, Linkoping and Norrkoping pic.twitter.com/xdHrFjI7XS
In the city of Malmö, a bus caught fire after unknown perpetrators threw a burning object at the vehicle, SVT reported.
Passengers managed to escape the vehicle before anyone was hurt.
Welcome to #Sweden pic.twitter.com/upemjWILOn
— Åsk Dabitch Wäppling 🇸🇪 ᚬᛋᚴ ᛏᛅᛒᛁᛏᚴᚼ ᚢᛅᛅᛒᛒᛚᛁᚾᚴ (@dabitch) April 17, 2022
Other vehicles and several dustbins were also set on fire in Malmö and police were pelted with stones and Molotov cocktails on Saturday night.
Malmö's police chief Petra Stenkula said at a press conference on Sunday that it was sad that freedom of expression had become a "free pass" for such riots.
Fortunately, she said, only a few people suffered minor injuries during the night. A 16-year-old was arrested.
Permission to burn the Koran
Tensions arose after a well-known right-wing extremist, Rasmus Paludan, was given permission to hold a demonstration at which he planned to burn a copy of the Koran.
Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran in Linkping, Sweden, which has a large Muslim population.
— GBN (@GBNfeed) April 15, 2022
A riot quickly broke out in a nearby neighbourhood. pic.twitter.com/CLAtmRREVR
The police authorized the rallies, sparking protests and riots in several cities.
Press Release: Malaysia strongly condemns the provocative burning of Holy Qur'an in Sweden@saifuddinabd @KamarudinJaffar @IkramShahrul @amran_zin @CheongLL_WP @MYEmbStockholm @JPenerangan @bernamadotcom pic.twitter.com/SIcqIAD8vf
— Wisma Putra (@MalaysiaMFA) April 17, 2022
There was one rally in Malmö on Saturday afternoon, while several police cars were set on fire in the city of Örebro in the south of the country on Good Friday. Riots also broke out in Stockholm.
About a dozen police officers suffered injuries.
