STOCKHOLM: A suspect has been identified in the murder of an anti-Islam campaigner in Sweden last January.
The public prosecutor announced the development on Monday in a case the Swedish prime minister suggested might involve foreign powers.
Investigators have established a clear sequence of events through extensive technical work and surveillance footage review.
The suspect’s current location remains unknown according to the prosecutor’s statement.
Authorities have scheduled a detention hearing for Friday in a district court.
This legal step precedes the issuance of an international wanted notice for the suspect under Swedish law.
Victim Salwan Momika was an Iraqi refugee known for publicly burning and desecrating copies of the Koran.
He was shot dead near Stockholm hours before a verdict in his trial for agitation against an ethnic group.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated in January that the killing potentially involved foreign power connections.
Muslims worldwide condemned the Koran burnings as blasphemous acts against their holy book.
These incidents complicated Sweden’s NATO accession process which concluded earlier this year.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had called for severe punishment against Koran desecrators in 2023.
He accused Sweden of waging war on the Muslim world by allegedly supporting the perpetrators.
Sweden elevated its terrorism threat level following the Koran burnings due to security concerns.
The terrorism alert was recently lowered back to level three on a five-point scale earlier this year. – Reuters
