Salwan Najem was also facing charges of inciting hatred against the Muslim community and was scheduled to present before the Stockholm court on the same day alongside Momika.
The Stockholm district court on Monday, February 3, delivered a landmark legal decision and convicted Salwan Najem of hate crimes for his anti-Islamic actions that involved desecrating the Quran publicly.
The court announced its verdict days after self-proclaimed anti-Muslim activist Salwan Momika’s assassination who was a close friend and fellow campaigner of Najem.
Salwan Momika was mysteriously shot dead during a live stream in Sweden’s Hovsjo district on Wednesday night, January 29. His death occurred just hours before a verdict was scheduled to be delivered against him related to inciting hatred against Muslims and acts of Quran burning.
Salwan Najem was also facing charges of inciting hatred against the Muslim community and was scheduled to present before the Stockholm court on the same day alongside Momika.
During the hearing, the court stated, “Najem maliciously displayed hostility towards Muslims based on their religious faith through four identified events in 2023.” The court’s decision stressed that criticism toward religion stands permissible but his actions went well beyond what constitutes proper debate and critique.
The court imposed a 4,000 kronor (USD 358) fine on Najem alongside a suspended sentence to demonstrate their execution of free speech protection from ethnic and religious hate.
Chief Judge Göran Lundahl stated, “Freedom of expression allows no free license to members of society to deliberately offend or express disdain towards religious communities.”
The Quran burning incident in 2023 sparked international outrage, causing riots and instability in Muslim countries, prompting Sweden to investigate him for allegedly inciting ethnic groups.
This post was last modified on February 5, 2025 4:44 pm