Norway detains Qur'an blasphemer, plans to deport him to Sweden

A Sweden-based Iraqi refugee, who caused international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Qur'an last year, has been apprehended in Norway and is set to be deported back to Sweden.

Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee who desecrated copies of the Holy Qur'an during numerous protests in Sweden throughout last year, was arrested in Norway on March 28th, a day after he arrived in the Nordic country, according to a ruling by the Oslo district court.

Earlier, he had announced his intention to seek asylum in Norway after a Swedish court ruled that the extremist would be deported from the country. 

Following a hearing held on March 30th, the Oslo District Court ruled to detain Momika for four weeks, pending a probable request from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to Sweden for his return, as per EU regulations.

The court said that there are "concrete grounds for assuming that the foreigner will evade the implementation" of such a deportation, and therefore, it allowed the police's immigration unit to detain Momika.

The Oslo District Court believes that there are "concrete grounds for assuming that the foreigner will evade the implementation" of such a deportation, and therefore, it allowed the police's immigration unit to detain Momika.

In the court's ruling it said "a deportation will take place as soon as the formal and practical arrangements are in place."

According to the Oslo District Court ruling, the country's security service wrote a separate assessment of the situation the day after the arrest, stating that Momika is "considered to be a threat to fundamental national interests," local online media outlet Filter Nyheter. 

Momika's actions of desecrating the Qur'an caused outrage and condemnation in various Muslim nations.

Demonstrators held the Swedish government responsible for granting permission to carry out such acts, in the name of free speech, that hurt the sentiments of the followers of the Islamic faith.

In July, demonstrators from Iraq forcefully entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on two separate occasions, setting fires inside the premises during the second incident.

In October, the Swedish Migration Agency invalidated Momika's residency permit due to inaccurate details provided in his initial application.

However, he was subsequently issued a temporary permit based on the presence of an "impediment to enforcement" of his deportation to Iraq.

In response to widespread protests across the Muslim world, Denmark enacted a law last December that criminalizes the burning of religious texts, including the Qur'an, in public spaces. Meanwhile, Sweden is currently deliberating legal measures that would empower the police to deny permits for demonstrations on grounds of national security.

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