Amidst protests involving desecrations of the Quran, Sweden’s Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, issued a stark warning about the country being targeted by disinformation campaigns seeking to exploit the anger surrounding the incidents.
Sweden’s Prime Minister warned Wednesday that his country was being targeted by disinformation campaigns that seek to capitalise on the anger sparked by protests involving desecrations of the Koran.
“Sweden is right now the target of influence campaigns, supported by states and state-like actors, whose purpose is to harm Sweden and Swedish interests,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a social media post.
The head of government said in a message on Instagram that recent “burnings of copies of religious texts” coincide with a difficult “security policy situation.”
“These events are then retold in an inaccurate way, sometimes with direct calls to hurt our country,” he continued.
In a separate statement, Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin also warned of an increased spread of disinformation against Sweden.
“There is a risk that the current disinformation campaigns against Sweden could jeopardise the situation of Swedish citizens and companies abroad, and pose a threat to national security,” Bohlin said.
Tensions have flared between Sweden and several Middle Eastern nations after an Iraqi refugee staged two protests in which he desecrated the Koran.
In late June, Salwan Momika, 37, set pages of the Muslim holy text alight outside Stockholm’s main mosque.
Last week he staged a similar protest outside Iraq’s embassy, stomping on the Koran but leaving before burning it.
Sweden’s government has condemned the desecrations, while stressing the country’s constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and assembly.
Marie de La Roche Saint-André, with AFP
