In Sweden, 9 police officers injured in a new demonstration against the far right
Protesters denouncing the intention of a far-right group to burn a Koran in Örebro in central Sweden attacked the police on Friday, leaving at least nine army forces injured according to the authorities. order.
Shortly before 7:00 p.m. (17:00 GMT), the police said in a statement that “a total of four police officers (were) injured – one of them received a stone on the head”.
“A member of the public was also injured after being hit by a stone on the head,” it said.
A little later, a fifth injured was announced among the police.
Finally, a spokeswoman for the police had reported new injuries.
“Three or four other police officers injured, all with minor injuries. There are, for example, broken arms and police who have been hit by stones,” Diana Qudhaib told the daily Aftonbladet.
The demonstration, which gathered some 200 people according to local media, was dispersed in the early evening.
It is the second day in a row that such an incident has occurred on the sidelines of a rally of the anti-immigration and anti-Islam movement “Hard Line” led by the Danish-Swedish Rasmus Paludan, who is currently organizing a tour in Sweden by targeting neighborhoods with a large Muslim community.
At each of his gatherings, with only a few sympathizers, he burns a Koran, or tries his hand at burning.
In Örebro, his demonstration was held in a park near the city center and not in the district initially envisaged.
Thursday, disturbances had broken out at the end of the afternoon in Linköping, making three wounded among the police officers.
The head of government condemned these outbursts and the attacks on the police.
“In Sweden, people are allowed to express their opinions, whether they are in good or bad taste, it is part of our democracy. No matter what you think, you should never resort to violence. We will never accept it,” Magdalena Andersson told the TT news agency.
“This is exactly the kind of violent reaction he (Rasmus Paludan, editor’s note) wants to see. The very purpose is to incite people to oppose each other,” she added.
Mr. Paludan has provoked incidents on several occasions in recent years.
In November 2020, he was arrested in France and then deported. Five other activists were arrested in Belgium shortly after, accused of wanting to “spread hatred” by burning a Koran in Brussels.