How long before Sweden jettisons the idea of freedom of expression and outlaws blasphemy against Islam altogether?
“Terror expert: Sweden a priority target,” translated from “Terrorexpert: Sverige en prioriterad måltavla,” Nyheter 24, April 4, 2023:
Five people have been arrested on suspicion of having planned a terrorist crime in Sweden. That the plans are linked to the protests after the Koran burning in January does not surprise terror expert Magnus Ranstorp. Sweden has become a priority target, he says.
Five people have been arrested in a coordinated operation by the police’s national task force in Eskilstuna, Linköping and Strängnäs. Those arrested are suspected of having planned a terrorist crime in Sweden.
“Five people is quite a lot, often it may have been two or three people, often also in one place, so it is quite unusual that there are many different cities,” says Magnus Ranstorp, researcher at the Norwegian Defense University.
The security police make the assessment that an attack was not immediately imminent. According to Säpo, the terror plans are linked to the protests after the far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s high-profile Koran burning in January – and the crime is linked to the terrorist group IS.
Ranstorp emphasizes that it is an expected development as a result of a changed security situation that both he himself and the Security Police have previously warned about. Information that is spread online that the Swedish social service kidnaps Muslim children also plays a role.
“Previously, it was the case that Sweden was a legitimate, but not a priority target. But now we have become a priority target because of the Koran burnings and the LVU campaign. It has put Sweden on the map, above all the recent Koran burning,” he says.
Several reports that have mapped the radical Islamist environment show that it is spread out in various Swedish cities, from north to south, says Ranstorp.
“In the bigger cities, it’s not about many people, but they do exist and the Security Police have a good idea of who these people are. In Linköping and Eskilstuna above all, there are individuals there who have this violent orientation, who are interested in assassinations.
“But as I said, the Security Police have an iron grip on these environments, so it’s not surprising that they’ve intercepted something here.”
