Supporters of the powerful Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr set the Swedish embassy in Baghdad alight on the night of July 20, after a Stockholm-based Iraqi refugee desecrated the Koran in Stockholm.
The internal security forces court in Baghdad on Tuesday found 18 police officers guilty of failing to carry out their duties by allowing the protesters to attack the embassy, said a copy of the verdict seen by AFP.
Eight police received three-year jail terms, seven got two years and three months and three others were sentenced to 18 months in prison according to the text authenticated by an interior ministry official who attended the hearing.
Some of the police involved in the case were permanently disbarred from the force, according to the verdict.
The officers, who included members of the diplomatic protection forces, can appeal the ruling.
The desecration of the Koran, which happened repeatedly in Sweden and Denmark this summer, sparked tensions between the Scandinavian countries and Muslim nations in the Middle East.
Iraq retaliated against Stockholm for permitting protests in which the Koran was desecrated by announcing the expulsion of the Sweden's ambassador.
Swedish authorities had allowed the demonstrations on free-speech grounds, but said giving their permission did not signal any approval of the action taken in the protests.
Iraq asks Sweden to extradite Koran burner
Stockholm (AFP) Sept 12, 2023 -
Baghdad has asked Sweden to extradite Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who stoked international outrage by desecrating the Koran, he and his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday.
"Iraq wants him extradited because he burnt a Koran outside the mosque (in Stockholm) in June," lawyer David Hall told AFP after Swedish police questioned Momika in connection with the extradition request.
"To be extradited to another country, the law (in Sweden) dictates that the crime has to be a crime in both Sweden and Iraq," Hall said.
Burning Islam's holy book "is not a crime in Sweden, so it's not possible for Sweden to extradite him."
The Swedish government has condemned the desecrations of the Koran but upheld the country's laws regarding freedom of speech and assembly.
"I don't understand why they (Iraq) bother with such a demand. I'm sure the Iraqi government understands this," Hall added.
Momika told AFP that Iraq was seeking his extradition "so that I can be judged and held accountable in Iraq according to Islamic laws."
"I will file a complaint against Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein because he committed a political crime against me," he added.
Momika has burned Korans at a slew of protests in Sweden since June, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation in Muslim countries.
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
Sweden's intelligence agency heightened its terror alert level in mid-August to four on a scale of five after the angry reactions made the country a "prioritised target".
The Swedish government is exploring legal means of stopping protests involving the burning of holy texts in certain circumstances, but it is not certain there will be a majority for a change of legislation.
Hall said Momika's extradition case would likely go as high as the Swedish Supreme Court and a decision "could take several weeks or a few months."
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