Sweden arrested Quran burner in the face of protests: Momen

Swedish authorities have arrested the man responsible for burning a copy of the Quran in the face of protests from Muslim countries across the globe, including Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said today.

"We have already summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka under the direction of the prime minister and have strongly protested against the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and we have also demanded that the responsible person be punished," he said while responding to questions in the parliament on Tuesday.

He continued, "Our ambassador in Sweden has already informed us that the Swedish government has expressed regret over the incident and arrested the person responsible.

"Prior to the incident, according to them, the man had said he would only publish his statement, but did not say that he would burn the Quran. Hence, he was arrested for spreading hatred. Because spreading hatred is against their laws.

"Like us, many other Muslim countries have protested and we are satisfied with the action taken by the Swedish government."

Authorities arrested 37-year-old Iraqi national Salwan Momika on hate crimes charges last Wednesday after he used a pre-approved permit from Stockholm city officials to burn pages of the Quran outside Stockholm's central mosque during the observance of Eid al-Adha, a major holy day for Muslims.