Counter-protesters who came to denounce the intention of a far-right group to burn a Koran in the Swedish city of Linköping attacked the police on Thursday April 14, leaving three soldiers injured according to the authorities. 'order.
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Swedish police had authorized Thursday afternoon a demonstration by Danish far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, with his "
Hard Line
" party known for its anti-Islam provocations.
He had announced that he wanted to burn a Koran during the event, but the demonstration never took place.
The rally was scheduled for around 3:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. GMT) in the Skäggetorp district, where more than 50% of the inhabitants were born abroad and which is home to a large Muslim community.
But the radical far-right group was unable to get to the scene and the situation then degenerated between counter-demonstrators and police, according to images broadcast according to social networks.
“The climate was aggressive”
Some show dozens of young men, their faces masked or concealed by hoods, breaking the windows of police cars.
Standing on the roof of the vehicle, a counter-protester shouts "
Allahu Akbar
" (Allah is great).
A police car and another vehicle were set on fire.
"
The climate was aggressive and there were attacks on the police on the spot
," a police spokeswoman told national television SVT.
The situation calmed down after law enforcement left the scene, she said.
In a press release, the local police described the events as a "
violent riot
".
Three police officers were hospitalized.
Two of the police officers suffered minor injuries and those of the third were not specified.
Two people were arrested.
Another far-right demonstration was planned for the early evening by Rasmus Paludan in the nearby town of Norrköping in the early evening, but could not be held there either.
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Incidents were also reported there, with burned vehicles, according to the police.
Rasmus Paludan has regularly provoked incidents in recent years.
In November 2020, he was arrested in France and then deported.
Five other activists were arrested in Belgium shortly after, accused of wanting to “
spread hatred
” by burning a Koran in Brussels.
