Iraq's Judiciary Formally Requests the Extradition of Qur'an Desecrator from Sweden

Shafaq News/ Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council has formally petitioned Sweden for the extradition of Salwan Sabah Moumika, a refugee frok Iraqi citizens who set a copy of the Quran on fire in Stockholm.

In an official correspondence dispatched by the Extradition Department of the Supreme Judicial Council to the Legal Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the council alluded to the document from the Third Karkh Investigation Court, filed under number 18680, dated 3rd of July, 2023.

The court ordered Moumika's arrest, citing allegations of publicly assaulting religious beliefs and displaying contempt thereof, in accordance with Article 372 of the Penal Code.

Given that the case file meets the conditions and regulations stipulated in Article 360 of the Code of Criminal Procedures No. 23 of 1971, as amended, the council urged the extradition of Moumika to the Iraqi authorities to face the charges, urging swift action.

Earlier, on the 29th of June, 2023, Faiq Zaidan, the Head of the Supreme Judicial Council, had instructed the initiation of legal proceedings to extradite the Iraq-origin refugee.

The incident that sparked worldwide disarray request occurred on the first day of Eid al-Adha, when the young man was reported to have torn and set fire to a Qur'an near Stockholm's central mosque.