A far-right politician who made nasty remarks at political rallies two years ago was convicted by a Swedish court on Tuesday to four months in prison for two counts of “incitement against an ethnic group.”
According to the Malmo District Court, the 42-year-old Danish-Swedish man, who has been unnamed but has been recognised by Swedish media as Rasmus Paludan, the founder and leader of the Danish nationalist anti-immigration group Stram Kurs, had previously been found guilty and sentenced by a Danish court on a comparable charge.
According to the court, Paludan, the founder and leader of the Danish nationalist anti-immigration party Stram Kurs, made derogatory remarks about Muslims, Arabs, and Africans in 2022 while leading rallies in the southern city of Malmo. On at least one occasion, he also set fire to a copy of the Quran, the sacred text of Islam. A violent wave of riots rocked the nation in retaliation.
Paludan’s actions, according to some analysts, might have temporarily jeopardised Sweden’s chances of joining NATO following escalating political tensions with Turkey. This year, in March, Sweden became a member of the alliance.
Paludan’s anti-Muslim comments “cannot be excused as criticism of Islam or as political campaign work,” the court stated in a statement on Tuesday.
“It is acceptable to publicly make critical statements about, for example, Islam and also Muslims, but the disrespect of a group of people must not clearly cross the line for a factual and valid discussion,” stated Chief Councillor Nicklas Söderberg, the court’s chairman.
Paludan’s public remarks “only amounted to insulting Muslims,” he continued, adding that “there was no question of any such discussion” during the Malmo rallies in April and September 2022.
Whether the politician was aware that the protests were being videotaped and posted on Facebook piqued the court’s interest. The district court disagreed with Paludan’s claim that he was unaware of it, stating that his “actions at the gatherings would be downright illogical if he didn’t know about the publication on Facebook.”
Lawyer by trade, Paludan told Swedish media that the decision didn’t surprise him.
“It was anticipated. He was quoted by the Swedish tabloid Expressen as saying, “We will appeal.”
