Injured after ricochets
Situation escalated around Islamophobic rally in Sweden
04/17/2022, 9:11 p.m
An ultra-right group is marching through Swedish cities and each time wants to burn a Koran. This calls counter-demonstrators on the scene. According to their own statements, the police fired warning shots in Norrköping – which hit three people. These were taken to the hospital.
In Sweden, after a meeting of the ultra-right group Stram Kurs, counter-demonstrators rioted again. In Norrköping, the police said they fired warning shots on Sunday. Three people were apparently hit and injured by ricochets, the police said. According to the police, a bus, a car and garbage cans were set on fire in Malmo.
The three injured from Norrköping were taken to the hospital and taken into custody as a precautionary measure, according to the police, because they are suspected of a crime.
The protests were triggered by a meeting of the anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant group Stram Kurs (Strammer Kurs) led by politician and lawyer Rasmus Paludan. This is currently moving through various Swedish cities and holding meetings there, at which one Koran is to be burned at a time. There have been several clashes between the police and counter-demonstrators.
Protests in several cities
On Saturday, a Stram Kurs rally was moved from Landskrona in southern Sweden to a parking lot in the neighboring city of Malmo to avoid riots. Nevertheless, protests broke out in various parts of Malmo, with rioters throwing stones at the police. According to a spokeswoman, police officers were not injured. However, several reports of vandalism were reported.
In Norrköping, 150 demonstrators took to the streets against Stram Kurs on Sunday. According to police, stones were thrown at police officers and cars were set on fire. The police arrested four demonstrators.
In similar clashes in the city of Linköping, ten people were hospitalized with minor injuries, the TT news agency reported, citing health authorities.