(AFP) A man set fire to pages of the Koran outside Stockholm’s main mosque Wednesday, drawing a swift condemnation from Turkey which is holding up Sweden’s bid to join NATO days ahead of a summit.
Swedish police had granted a permit for the protest in line with free-speech protections but also opened an investigation into the man, originally from Iraq, for “agitation against an ethnic group.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the burning of the pages of the Islamic holy book “despicable.”
“It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on Twitter. “Turning a blind eye to such atrocious acts is to be complicit.”
