Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 31, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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Sweden has released five suspects in the murder of anti-Islam campaigner Salwan Momika, amid ongoing investigations and potential foreign power links.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Swedish prosecutor said on Friday he had decided to release from detention five suspects who were held over the killing on Wednesday of an anti-Islam campaigner.
Salwan Momika, 38, an Iraqi refugee who had burned the Koran in public on several occasions, was shot dead in a house in Sodertalje town near Stockholm, and Sweden's prime minister on Thursday said the killing could be linked to a foreign power.
While five suspects were initially apprehended by police, the suspicion against them had weakened as the investigation progressed, Senior Prosecutor Rasmus Oman said in a statement on Friday.
The five were, however, still subject to further investigation, Oman said.
Momika had stood trial in Sweden after he burned and desecrated copies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, in public and in social media broadcasts, and a verdict in the case had been due just hours after the killing.
Sweden in 2023 raised its terrorism alert to the second-highest level and warned of threats against Swedes at home and abroad after the Koran burnings, most of them by Momika, outraged Muslims and triggered threats.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in 2023 that people who desecrate the Koran should face the "most severe punishment" and that Sweden had "gone into battle-array for war on the Muslim world" by supporting those responsible.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto; editing by Bill Berkrot)
Salwan Momika was a 38-year-old Iraqi refugee known for burning the Koran in public. He was shot dead in Sodertalje, Sweden.
The Swedish prosecutor stated that the suspicion against the five suspects had weakened as the investigation progressed, leading to their release.
Sweden's Prime Minister expressed concerns about the threats following the Koran burnings, which had raised the country's terrorism alert to a high level.
Momika had been on trial for burning and desecrating copies of the Koran, with a verdict expected shortly before he was killed.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that those who desecrate the Koran should face the 'most severe punishment,' indicating heightened tensions.
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