Swedish prosecutor decides not to open investigation into burning Quran

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In Sweden, a prosecutor has decided that as burning the Quran is part of freedom of expression, there is no need for an investigation into the act of burning the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 21.

Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 21.

According to the Stockholm-based daily Dagens Nyheter, a person from the city of Västerås filed a complaint with the police after Paludan's outrageous act.

Prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad, who specializes in hate crimes, decided a few weeks after the application that there was no need to open an investigation into the act.

In the decision dated March 12, it is stated that the act complained of, did not constitute incitement against a group or any other crime. Prosecutor Ingblad noted that the burning of the Quran should be considered as freedom of expression, adding that freedom of expression is the basis of the European Convention and Swedish law.