Sweden has identified a suspect in the murder of Salwan Momika, the man killed during a “live” on TikTok after burning the Koran
Salwan Momika during a Koran burning in Malmo on September 30, 2023, PHOTO: Johan Nilsson/TT / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
A suspect has been identified in the murder of Salwan Momika, the Swedish anti-Islam activist who was killed during a “live” broadcast on TikTok, the Stockholm prosecutor's office announced, in a case that Sweden's prime minister said could have links to foreign powers, reports Reuters.
“We have a clear picture of the sequence of events and, after extensive technical investigations and analysis of the surveillance recordings obtained,” the public prosecutor said in a statement. “Currently, the suspect's whereabouts are unknown,” he said.
The statement did not name the suspect. A detention hearing was scheduled for Friday in a district court – a procedure required by Swedish law before an international warrant is issued for the suspect.
News of the killing of Momika, 38, appeared in Swedish media on the morning of January 30 this year, as he was due to appear in court that day to find out the verdict in the hate-mongering trial Swedish prosecutors opened against him in connection with 4 separate Koran burnings in 2023.
Sweden initially arrested 5 suspects in the murder case, but released them
Police found Momika dead in an apartment on the outskirts of Stockholm after receiving a call the previous night at around 11pm. A video shared on social media showed Momika speaking live on TikTok as one or more attackers burst into the room. The recording showed him speaking to the camera before the broadcast suddenly stopped and the signal was lost.
Swedish police announced at the time that 5 suspects had been arrested, but all were released shortly afterwards.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in January, referring to the murder, that “there is clearly a risk of a connection with a foreign power”.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in 2023 that people who desecrate the Koran should receive the “severest punishment” and that Sweden had “aligned itself to start a war against the Muslim world” through its alleged support of those responsible.
The Koran burnings by Momika and another man were also cited by Turkey as a reason for opposing the northern country's NATO membership. Ankara eventually dropped its objections and Sweden officially became NATO's 32nd member state in early March last year.
Who was Salwan Momika
Momika arrived in Sweden in the spring of 2018 and became nationally known in the Nordic country 5 years later for burning the Koran in public. His anti-Islam demonstrations created a diplomatic crisis for Sweden during the NATO accession process and helped raise the terror alert level.
His actions have sparked protests and anger in many Muslim countries. In his native Iraq, demonstrators twice attacked the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in July 2023, setting fire to the building on the second attempt.
In Iraq, the city of al-Kufa offered a reward of two million dollars and a Koran consisting of two kilograms of gold to anyone who killed him. The government in Baghdad has requested his extradition.
In August 2023, Swedish intelligence raised its terror risk alert level to four on a scale of five after the demonstrations abroad, deeming Sweden a “priority target”.
The Swedish Migration Agency revoked Momika's residence permit in October 2023, citing false information in his original application, but granted him a temporary permit because it was unable to send him back to Iraq.
A month earlier, Iraq had requested his extradition over the desecration of the Koran. In Iraq, authorities in the city of al-Kufa have offered a reward of two million dollars and a Koran decorated with two kilograms of gold to whoever kills him.
Salwan Najem, the other man who set fire to copies of the Koran in Sweden alongside Momika, was convicted by Swedish justice in February of this year for incitement to hatred.
The newspaper Aftonbladet and other Swedish media reported at the time that Najem was convicted for making defamatory comments about Islam, not for the actual burning of the Koran. He received a suspended sentence and a fine of 4,000 kroner (about $360).
