(AFP) Swedish police on Wednesday denied permission for a protest involving the burning of a Koran, following a January demonstration that angered Turkey, putting Sweden’s pending NATO application on hold.
Protests are rarely banned by Swedish police as they are considered as a right under freedom of assembly, but police cited the risk that the protest could provoke terror attacks or attacks against Swedish interests.
The demonstration permit request was made by a small, little-known Swedish association, Apallarkerna, and was aimed at protesting against NATO membership, and like the earlier protest staged [by a] far-right activist, Rasmus Paludan, would involve the burning of a Koran in front of Turkey’s Stockholm embassy.
