Salwan Momika, the Iraqi refugee in Sweden responsible for several Koran desecrations, was questioned by Swedish police on Tuesday as part of an extradition request from Iraq, Momika and his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday.

Salvan Momika, one of the two organizers of the Stockholm protestPhoto: Jonathan Nakstrand / AFP / Profimedia Images

“Iraq is asking for my extradition to be tried in Iraq under Islamic law for burning the Koran in Sweden,” he said.

Salvan Momika sparked international outrage in June when he burned and trampled a Koran outside Stockholm’s largest mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world.

Reacting to his gesture, demonstrators briefly entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.

“Iraq wants to extradite him for burning a Koran in front of a mosque in June. But the law says that in order to be extradited, it has to be a crime in both Sweden and Iraq,” his lawyer David Hall told AFP.

“But this is not a crime in Sweden, so Sweden cannot extradite him,” he added after hearing his client.

“I don’t know why Iraq is bothered by such a request. I am convinced that the Iraqi government knows this,” he added.

According to the lawyer, the prosecutor handling the case should apply to the Supreme Court, which will decide on extradition. According to David Hall, such a process can take from several weeks to several months.

Momika said she would “file a complaint against Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein because he committed a political crime against me,” referring to the extradition request.

After another desecration of the Koran, in July Iraq ordered the expulsion of Sweden’s ambassador to Baghdad and the suspension of Swedish telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson’s license in the country.

The Swedish government has condemned the desecration of the Koran, but emphasizes that freedom of speech and assembly prevails on its territory.

In mid-August, Sweden decided to raise the terrorist alert level, believing that the threat of terrorist attacks “will persist for a long time.”

The government is considering legal ways to ban demonstrations in which religious books are desecrated, but is not sure it will find a majority to change the law.

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