Watan-The Norwegian authorities have announced the arrest of the Iraqi Salwan Momika, who burned the Quran in Sweden, and their intention to deport him.
After the Swedish Migration Court issued a decision to deport him from the country on March 27th last year, the Norwegian authorities rejected Momika’s asylum request.
The Norwegian Immigration Office stated in a statement that Momika’s asylum request was denied, and therefore, he was detained for deportation.
The statement added that Momika will be returned to Sweden, where he first applied for asylum under the Dublin Asylum Convention.
It is worth noting that in late October last year, the spokesperson for the Swedish Migration Agency, Jesper Tengroth, stated that Momika had a work and residence permit until April 16, 2024.
He further stated to TV4 channel that after that date, no residence permit would be issued to Momika, and he would be deported from the country.
However, Momika objected to the decision and appealed the case to the Immigration Court, which upheld the deportation decision on February 7th last year.
Burning of the Quran
On June 28th last year, Momika burned a copy of the Quran under police protection, followed by similar incidents later on.
During that time, Sweden witnessed repeated incidents of desecration of Quran in front of mosques and embassies of Islamic countries.
This sparked widespread outrage in the Muslim world, prompting some capitals to summon Swedish diplomats to register official protests.
In July 2023, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a draft resolution presented by Morocco, considering all forms of violence against individuals because of their religious beliefs, holy books, and religious sites as violations of international law.