An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year has been arrested in Norway, and now faces deportation back to Sweden, according to court documents viewed by AFP on Thursday.
On March 28, the Norwegian police had arrested Salwan Momika, an Iraqi who burned copies of the holy book at a slew of protests in Sweden over the summer.
Late last month, Momika had left Sweden for Norway, where he planned to seek asylum after the Swedish Migration Agency revoked his residency permit.
Norway plans to deport him back to Sweden “as soon as possible,” based on the Dublin Regulation for asylum seekers, said a ruling by the Oslo District Court, seen by AFP.
The Court added that “a deportation will take place as soon as the formal and practical arrangements are in place.”
Momika’s actions burnings sparked widespread outrage and condemnation across the Muslim world.
In Iraq, protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
The Swedish government condemned the acts of desecration, but stressed the country’s laws regarding freedom of speech and assembly.
The Swedish Migration Agency revoked Momika's residency permit in October, citing false information in his original application, but he was granted a temporary one as it said there was an “impediment to enforcement” of a deportation to Iraq.
The month before, Iraq had requested his extradition over one of the Quran burnings.
On the eve of his departure for Norway, Momika told AFP, “Sweden has become a threat to me after the decision to expel me and the threat to extradite me to Iraq.
He called Sweden’s freedom of expression and protection of human rights “a big lie.”
