STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s Migration Agency has decided to expel an Iraqi man who burned copies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, at demonstrations in recent months in Stockholm, broadcaster TV4 reported on Thursday.
“The Migration Agency has decided to expel the person from Sweden,” TV quoted the agency as saying. “As a result of complications carrying out the decision, a limited residence permit has been granted for the period Oct. 25, 2023 to April 16, 2024.”
The Migration Agency could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Swedish migration agency said in July it was re-examining the man’s residency permit.
In August, Sweden raised its terrorism alert to the second-highest level and warned of an increase in threats against Swedes at home and abroad after Koran burnings outraged Muslims and triggered threats from jihadists.
Anti-Islam activists have burned several copies of the Koran in Sweden and Denmark, two of the most liberal countries in the world that allow trenchant criticism of religion in the name of free speech. But many Muslims view desecrating the Koran, which they see as the literal word of God, as a grave offence.
Last week, a Tunisian gunman killed two Swedish football fans in Brussels in an attack which Sweden’s prime minister said showed that Europe must bolster security to protect itself.
(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
