Clashes have erupted in some southern Swedish towns in recent days over antiIslamic demonstrations announced by the farright party Stram Kurs, whose leader Rasmus Paludan has announced plans to burn copies of the Koran at rallies in several towns. Police clashed several times with groups of counterprotesters accused of violently assaulting police.
The first StramCourse demonstration was scheduled for Thursday afternoon in the city of Linköping, but before it could take place, police clashed with a group of dozens of people, attacking officers, injuring three and destroying cars and other police vehicles . . . Although the planned StramCourse demonstration in the nearby city of Norrköping was canceled Thursday night, clashes erupted and police said a group of about 200 people set cars on fire and attacked police. A total of three police officers were injured on Thursday.
🚨 Riots in #LinkopingSweden pic.twitter.com/xR9TwbiLWC
Breaking News 24/7 (@ Worldsource24) April 14, 2022
A Stram course rally was planned for Friday in the city of Örebro, but there were violent clashes between the police and counterdemonstrators here too, and ten police officers were injured. On Saturday, Stram Kurs’s antiIslamic demonstration was scheduled to take place in the city of Landskrona, but for security reasons the authorities had decided to move it to Malmö, some 45 km further south.
Despite the move, around 100 people in Landskrona threw stones, set cars, rubbish bins and tires on fire and erected barricades in the city’s streets. The clashes ended on Saturday evening, but the situation is still tense, according to police. In Malmo, a few dozen participants took part in the Stram Kurs demonstration: a small number of counterprotesters threw stones at them and police used piercing sprays to disperse them, and more clashes ensued.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson responded to the violence by reaffirming the will of the government and authorities to enforce the right to demonstrate. “In Sweden,” he said, “you’re allowed to express your opinion, even the tacky ones, and that’s part of our democracy.” Paludan announced on Saturday that he would like to hold a new demonstration on Sunday, but it is unclear whether he will get permission from the police.