:2022 Sweden riots

{{Short description|April 2022 riots in Sweden}}

{{for|the 1943 Easter Riots in Sweden|Easter Riots}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox civil conflict

| partof =

| image =

| caption = A city bus burning on the street in Malmö, Sweden, on 16 April 2022

| date = 15–17 April 2022
(3 days)

| time =

| place = Sweden

| result = Charges brought against both rioters{{Cite web |date=2020-10-15 |title=De jagas efter kravallerna i Malmö |url=https://www.friatider.se/de-jagas-efter-kravallerna-i-malmo |website=Friatider |language=sv}} and Rasmus Paludan{{Cite news |date=2022-04-21 |title=Police in Malmö report Danish extremist for hate crimes |work=The Local Sweden |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20220421/police-in-malmo-report-danish-extremist-for-hate-crimes |access-date=2022-04-22}}

| side1 = Swedish Police

| side2 = Rioters

| casualties1 = {{ubl|

  • Nearly 400 injured{{cite news | url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/nara-50-domda-efter-paskhelgens-upplopp | title=Nära 50 dömda efter påskhelgens upplopp | newspaper=SVT Nyheter | date=6 January 2023 | last1=Bering | first1=Sofia }}
  • Several police cars damaged or destroyed

}}

| casualties2 = 3+ injured{{Cite news |last= |date=2022-04-17 |title=Swedish police shoot 3 during fresh riots |url=https://www.dw.com/en/swedish-police-shoot-3-during-fresh-riots/a-61500315 |access-date=2022-04-19}}

| casualties3 = {{ubl|

  • 14 members of the public injured
  • More than 20 vehicles damaged or destroyed
  • 47 people sentenced in court of law{{cite news | url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/nara-50-domda-efter-paskhelgens-upplopp | title=Nära 50 dömda efter påskhelgens upplopp | newspaper=SVT Nyheter | date=6 January 2023 | last1=Bering | first1=Sofia }}

}}

}}

Riots occurred in several Swedish cities in April 2022, primarily against police who were stationed to protect events planned by Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan. The motivation for the violence was ostensibly Paludan's plan to burn a Quran; however, the police suspect that the event was used by criminal groups to target police.{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/18/1093289012/riots-in-sweden | title=Sweden links riots to criminal gangs that target police | website=NPR | date=18 April 2022 }} Two-thirds of those injured were police officers.Ibid.

Background

File:Rasmus_Paludan_burning_quran.jpg

Rasmus Paludan is a Danish-Swedish politician and head of the Hard Line party, who has been known for staging similarly provocative events in the past.{{Cite web |title=Riots in Sweden against far-right group leave 3 injured |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/riots-sweden-group-leave-injured-84136538 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=The Associated Press |language=en |via=ABC News}} His views have been characterized as anti-Islamic, and he has called for the deportation of Muslims from Western society.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-20 |title=Sweden: Far-right anti-Islam politician taps into backlash against immigration |work=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-far-right-anti-islam-politician-taps-into-backlash-against-immigration/a-61523994 |access-date=2022-04-22 |quote="His extreme movement is focused on just one single issue and this is banning Islam and deporting all Muslims," Widfeldt said. "Though if you followed that policy, it would amount to ethnic cleansing." |author-last=Phalnikar |author-first=Sonia}}{{Cite news |first1=Julia |last1=Linder |first2=Jaqueline |last2=Balcer Bednarska |date=2022-04-15 |title=Detta vet vi om Stram kurs |language=sv |work=SVT Nyheter |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/detta-vet-vi-om-stram-kurs |access-date=2022-04-22 |quote=Partiet arbetar för ett homogent Danmark, är kända för sitt antimuslimska budskap och förespråkar en rensning av “icke-västliga personer”.}} He has previously been convicted for hate speech and defamation in Denmark and was previously banned from entering Sweden for his role in inciting the 2020 Sweden riots.{{Cite news |last=Delling |first=Hannes |date=2022-04-16 |title=Rasmus Paludan – vem är han egentligen? |language=sv |work=Svenska Dagbladet |url=https://www.svd.se/a/7dOjz4/rasmus-paludan-vem-ar-han}} However, after receiving Swedish citizenship through his father, he could not be banned from entering the country which allowed him to continue his activities in Sweden.{{cite news|access-date=7 November 2022|title=Den danska högerextrema politikern Rasmus Paludan har blivit svensk medborgare, och hoppas därmed kunna planera gör att genomföra flera aktiviteter i Sverige, rapporterar danska nyhetsbyrån Ritzau.|url=https://www.svd.se/a/bn5L83/koranprovokator-har-blivit-svensk-medborgare|publisher=Svenska Dagbladet}}

According to a 2017 Pew Research estimate, Sweden is home to about 800,000 Muslims, primarily from immigration. Sweden's immigration policy has been criticized for failing to integrate immigrants, and there has been conflict between Muslims and the country's police force. Some Muslims felt outraged by the Quran burnings and associated rallies.{{Cite news |last=Gilmore |first=Rachel |title=Police fired at a riot in Sweden. How did it get to that point? {{!}} National |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8766628/sweden-riot-protest-extremism-islamophobia/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}

According to Paludan, the purpose of the Quran burnings was to protest the Swedish government's inability to integrate immigrants into Swedish society and defend freedom of expression.{{cite news |title=Koran burning and riots in Sweden – the day after |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/218596/koran-burning-and-riots-in-sweden-the-day-after | date=2022-04-21 |website=The Brussels Times |first= M. |last= Apelblat}}

Timeline

In April 2022, Paludan applied for permission for several rallies in Sweden which involved Quran burning. Regional police permitted some rallies and banned or moved others, depending on local circumstances.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-18 |title=Dozens arrested after days of far-right clashes across Sweden |work=EuroNews |url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/04/18/dozens-arrested-after-days-of-far-right-clashes-across-sweden}}

On 14 April, crowds rioted in the city of Linköping, attacking police vehicles and burning a car. Twelve police officers were injured and four of their cars set on fire by angry mobs in Örebro. Social media posts showed men breaking the windows of police cars as they screamed the Takbir.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-14 |title=Sweden: three police hurt in riot before demo where Quran was to be burned |language=en |work=AFP in Stockholm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/14/sweden-three-police-hurt-in-riot-before-demo-where-quran-was-to-be-burned |access-date=2022-04-18 |via=the Guardian}} Paludan successfully burned a Quran the next day in Rinkeby, causing more riots.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-15 |title=Riots erupt in Sweden's Orebro ahead of right-wing extremist demonstration |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/riots-erupt-swedens-orebro-ahead-right-wing-extremist-demonstration-2022-04-15/ |access-date=2022-04-18}}

An attempt to hold a gathering in Malmö on 16 April by Paludan was interrupted after people threw stones. Paludan was hit by a rock and the attackers were driven off with pepper spray.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-17 |title=Third night of unrest in Sweden over far-right anti-Islam rally |language=en |work=Associated Press Helsinki |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/17/third-night-of-unrest-in-sweden-over-far-right-anti-islam-rally |access-date=2022-04-18 |via=the Guardian}} Rioters also torched a bus in the city overnight.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-17 |title=Swedish police shoot 3 during fresh riots |url=https://www.dw.com/en/swedish-police-shoot-3-during-fresh-riots/a-61500315 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en-GB}}

A ceremony to burn the Quran was set to take place in Landskrona, Scania, on 17 April, but was moved to Malmö by the police to prevent unrest. However, rioters in Landskrona stoned and set fire to vehicles, causing extensive property damage and intentionally obstructing traffic. Police fired at them with ricochets in response, injuring three.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-17 |title=Three people injured in riots in Sweden |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/three-people-injured-riots-sweden-2022-04-17/ |access-date=2022-04-18}} By the time the day had ended, widespread damage against both police and civilian property had occurred, including one school in Rosengård, Malmö, that had been set on fire.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-18 |title=Sweden links riots to criminal gangs that target police |language=en |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/18/1093289012/riots-in-sweden |access-date=2022-04-20 |newspaper=NPR}}{{Cite news |date=2022-04-20 |title=Riots over Koran burning test Swedish tolerance |language=en |work=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220420-riots-over-koran-burning-test-swedish-tolerance |access-date=2022-04-20}}{{Cite news |last=Neuding |first=Paulina |title=Sweden is burning again |language=en |work=The Spectator |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/sweden-riots-quran-burning-again |access-date=2022-04-21}}

More than 200 people were involved in the violence and more than 40 people were arrested.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-17 |title=Unrest in Sweden over planned Quran burnings |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61134734 |access-date=2022-04-18}} At least 104 police officers{{Cite web |date=2022-04-24 |title=Norwegian police clash with counter-demonstrators at Koran-burning event |url=https://www.thelocal.no/20220423/norwegian-police-spray-tear-gas-during-planned-koran-burning-demonstration/ |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=The Local Norway |language=en-US}} and 14 members of the public were injured and more than 20 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. At least one uninvolved civilian was also injured.

Aftermath

Paludan stated that the Swedish authorities in the region "showed that they are absolutely incapable of safeguarding themselves and me." He then announced his intention to hold protests the following week. The Swedish police stated that they would reconsider granting Paludan permission to hold further such rallies.{{cite news |last1=Persson |first1=Ida |date=20 April 2022 |title=Beslut om Paludan väntas nästa vecka |work=SVT |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/polisforbundet-om |access-date=20 April 2022 |author-last= |author-first=}} On 21 April, the Malmö Police announced that they would be reporting Paludan to local prosecutors for charges of "agitation against an ethnic group."{{cite news |last1= |first1= |date=21 April 2022 |title=Police in Malmö report Danish extremist for hate crimes |work=The Local Sweden |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20220421/police-in-malmo-report-danish-extremist-for-hate-crimes/ |access-date=22 April 2022 |author-last= |author-first=}}

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson insisted that "people are allowed to express their opinions, whether they are in good or bad taste, that is part of our democracy. No matter what you think, you must never resort to violence. We will never accept it." Andersson also criticized Paludan for inciting tensions.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-16 |title=Nine police injured during protest in Sweden |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20220415/three-police-injured-after-riot-in-sweden/ |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=The Local Sweden |language=en-US}} Minister for Justice Morgan Johansson said that while Paludan should not have triggered the crisis and "seems for some reason to hate Sweden and try to harm Sweden... I do not understand why."{{Cite web |title=Sweden sees foreign countries playing role in recent riots |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sweden-sees-foreign-countries-playing-role-recent-riots-84188915 |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=ABC News |date=20 April 2022}} Sweden would still uphold its tradition of freedom of speech and allow him to protest. Christian Democrats leader Ebba Busch argued (due to a large amount of police officers being injured by the rioters) that the police should have acted more harshly in response to the riots, asking "Why didn't we have one hundred injured Islamists, one hundred injured criminals, one hundred injured insurgents?"{{cite news |date=22 April 2022|title=Ebba Busch om upploppen: "Varför sköt man inte skarpt?"|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/nWxEQd/ebba-busch-om-upploppen-borde-skjutit-skarp|author-last=Karlsson|author-first=Josephine|access-date=20 April 2022 |work=Aftonbladet}}

Anders Widfeldt of the University of Aberdeen stated that the unrest tied "into ongoing debates in Denmark and Sweden about how far free speech can go and what amounts to legitimate critique and what amounts to an illegitimate provocation." Human rights NGO Civil Rights Defenders stated that goal of Paludan's tour was to "spread hatred toward Muslims and immigrants and systematically provoke these groups" and called for the Swedish government to "apply the legislation on hate speech in a way that is in line with international documents on human rights".{{cite web|date=29 June 2022|title=Civil Rights Defenders report far-right extremist Rasmus Paludan to police|url=https://crd.org/2022/06/29/civil-rights-defenders-report-far-right-extremist-rasmus-paludan-to-police/|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=27 July 2022|work=Civil Rights Defenders}}

= Role of the police =

The riots have been characterized for the extent to which law enforcement were targeted. Anders Thornberg said that in some cases protesters "tried to kill police". In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Kivanc Atak of Stockholm University called the riots unusual in the sense that unlike most incidents causing conflict between police and minorities, the unrest was not directed against a specific case of police misconduct nor even the subject in general. Manne Gerell of Malmö University further added that some of those involved in the unrest might have been seeking to vent general frustration against police, such as over the use of stop and search powers. National Police Commissioner Anders Thornberg claimed that some rioters were suspected to have "links to criminal gangs" and that the police would look into it.{{Cite web |last=Tanner |first=Jari |date=2022-04-18 |title=Sweden links riots to criminal gangs that target police |url=https://www.cp24.com/world/sweden-links-riots-to-criminal-gangs-that-target-police-1.5865748 |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=CP24 |language=en}}

Following the Easter weekend, the Police Union in Östergötland called for an independent review into the handling of the clashes.{{Cite news |last=Sweden |first=Radio |date=2022-04-18 |title=Police union calls for independent review of how riots were handled |work=Radio Sweden |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/police-union-calls-for-independent-review-of-how-riots-were-handled |access-date=2022-04-20}} Journalist Bilan Osman stated that the police "misjudged the situation," and should have stopped Paludan's rallies after the first outbreak of violence, instead of allowing them to continue, especially as the rallies were an attempt to incite hatred against the Muslim population of Sweden.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-22 |title='Police should have stopped Koran-burning demos after the first day' |work=The Local Sweden |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20220422/police-should-have-stopped-koran-burning-demos-after-the-first-day/ |access-date=2022-04-20}} Stefan Holgersson of Linköping University stated that the mishandling of the situation was in part caused by the fact that police in Sweden have largely moved away from the strategy of dialogue policing, reducing their ability to uphold high levels of trust from communities.{{Cite news |first1=Sandra |last1=Killgren |first2=Niklas |last2=Svensson |date=18 April 2022 |title=Sarnecki: "Ett allvarligt polisiärt misslyckande" |work=SVT |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sarnecki-ett-allvarligt-polisiart-misslyckande |access-date=2022-04-22}}

On 19 April, a demonstration was held against police brutality in Malmö in response to the police's use of guns in their handling of the events, attracting a crowd of several hundred protestors.{{Cite web |last=Leijnse |first=Emma |date=2022-04-19 |title=Demonstration mot polisvåld efter helgens upplopp |url=https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2022-04-19/demonstration-mot-polisvald-efter-helgens-upplopp |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Sydsvenskan}}

= International reactions =

The decision to allow Paludan to hold the demonstration attracted widespread condemnation from Islamic countries,{{Cite news |last1=Neta Bar |last2=ILH Staff |title=Provocative burning of Quran in Sweden leads to 3 days of unrest |work=Israel Hayom |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/04/17/provocative-burning-of-quran-in-sweden-leads-to-3-days-of-unrest/ |access-date=2022-04-18}} including Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan,{{Citation |title=Anger in the Middle East over Quran burning in Sweden {{!}} Al Jazeera Newsfeed | date=24 January 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmIJX6ZPHEo |language=en |access-date=2023-01-24}} Indonesia,{{Cite news |title=Indonesia Condemns The Burning Of The Holy Koran In Sweden |work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Indonesia |url=https://kemlu.go.id/portal/en/read/3517/berita/indonesia-condemns-the-burning-of-the-holy-koran-in-sweden |access-date=2022-04-18}} Pakistan,{{Cite web |title=Shehbaz Sharif |url=https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1516330959024570371 |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Twitter |language=en}} the United Arab Emirates,{{Cite news |title=Sweden suspects 'foreign actors' behind riots over Quran burning |language=en |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/20/sweden-believes-foreign-actors-behind-riots-over-quran-burning |access-date=2022-04-20}} and Saudi Arabia.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-18 |title=Saudi Arabia condemns 'abuse of Holy Qur'an' by extremists in Sweden |url=https://arab.news/n2bg4 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Arab News |language=en}} Protests at the Swedish embassy in Iran developed, in which demonstrators allegedly chanted "traditional anti-Western slogans such as Death to America and Death to Israel."

The Islamist Islami Andolan Bangladesh movement launched a major demonstration in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka in protest to the Quran burning as well as recent clashes in Jerusalem. The organization said that if the government did not present the matter to the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation then it would "conclude that they [the Bangladeshi government] are working on behalf of Israel."{{Cite news |title=Bangladeshis protest Sweden far-right unrest, Al-Aqsa clash |language=en |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bangladeshis-protest-sweden-unrest-al-aqsa-clash-84241435 |access-date=2022-04-24}}

Turkish president Recep Erdoğan said that Sweden "can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership."

Chinese diplomat Wang Wenbin said that "Freedom of speech cannot be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination and tear society apart" and called for the Swedish government to "respect the religious beliefs of minority groups."{{Cite web |date=2022-04-20 |title=Respect religious beliefs of Muslims, China tells Sweden |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220420-respect-religious-beliefs-of-muslims-china-tells-sweden/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Middle East Monitor |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=Staff |date=2022-04-21 |title=China asks Sweden to respect Muslims despite Uyghur genocide |language=en |work=The New Arab |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/china-asks-sweden-respect-muslims-despite-uyghur-genocide |access-date=2022-04-21}}

In a related incident, a Quran-burning rally was held by the anti-Islam Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) group in Sandefjord, Norway on 24 April. 300-400 counter-protesters arrived at the scene, pelting SIAN members with eggs and rocks. Police intervened to stop further conflict.

See also

References