Sweden tightens border checks after spate of Quran burnings

Minister says any changes to free expression laws will take time

Swedish police watch on at another Quran-burning protest on Monday after a permit for 'a gathering' was granted. EPA

Sweden on Tuesday announced it would tighten border checks because of threats linked to the burning of the Quran in Stockholm.

However, it has not decided whether to ban Quran-burning protests that have soured Sweden’s relations with the Muslim world.

Any changes to freedom-of-expression laws will "take time", Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said at a press conference a day after the Quran was again set on fire in Stockholm.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden was at increased risk after repeated stunts involving the public desecration of holy texts.

He said his homeland was being used “as a stage to spread hateful messages” because of free expression laws allowing such protests to go ahead. Denmark has also warned of a heightened threat after similar protests took place there.

A tighter Swedish border policy will be finalised on Thursday to prevent people with "weak connections to Sweden" from causing disorder. Laws coming into effect this week give police new powers to search people and cars.

“You should not come to Sweden if you want to use Sweden as a stage to cause harm,” Mr Kristersson said.

Swedish authorities have said they do not approve of burning the Quran and that permits are granted for gatherings and not what takes place during them.

But that distinction has failed to quell anger at the burning of Islam’s holy book and Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad was attacked last month.

Mr Kristersson said Sweden was looking into changes that would allow police to block protests if there is a threat to national security.

Ministers are receiving daily intelligence updates in what Mr Kristersson said was a sign of a serious situation.

However, he said no wholesale changes were planned to free expression laws and said the government “stands up for Swedish freedom of speech”.

Sweden has been in the spotlight since a far-right activist burnt a Quran outside Turkey’s embassy in January.

A police attempt to ban subsequent protests was struck down by a court on the grounds of free expression.

Using permits, activists Salwan Najem and Salwan Momika have desecrated the Quran outside Iraq’s embassy, the main mosque and the Swedish parliament building, all in the capital Stockholm, in recent weeks.

Denmark has gone further than its neighbour by saying it intends to give police a “legal tool” to block such protests.

A Danish intelligence service believes the Quran burnings have led to a heightened risk of attacks, it told broadcasters.

The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Co-operation on Monday stated its “disappointment” on Monday with Sweden and Denmark’s response to the burnings.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom had written the OIC to stress the Swedish position that a permit does not equal approval of Quran burning.

But the organisation’s secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha said it was unfortunate Sweden and Denmark “continue to provide licences” on free expression grounds.

The OIC said Mr Taha would lead a delegation to the EU to urge officials there “to take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such criminal acts”.

An EU official recently told The National the bloc condemns the burning of the Quran but banning it was a question for individual member states.