Protesters storm Swedish embassy in Iraq over Quran burning plan

Protesters climb a fence near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on July 20. (Ahmed Saad/Reuters)

Iraqi security forces dispersed hundreds of protesters who stormed the main gates of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, in response to police in Stockholm sanctioning another planned burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

Videos posted on social media showed a large number of protesters inside the Swedish embassy’s perimeter as well as black smoke and fire coming from the building.

Security forces armed with electric batons chased protestors and used water cannons to disperse them and put out the fire, a security source told CNN.

Three photojournalists working with international news agencies were arrested while covering the demonstrations, Ziyad Al-Ajili, the head of the Iraq-based Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) told CNN Thursday.

One other journalist was beaten by security forces and his camera destroyed, Al-Ajili said.

Eyewitnesses told CNN that the protesters withdrew from the perimeter of the Swedish Embassy after setting part of it on fire “after delivering their message of protest against the act of burning the Holy Book of God.”

The planned protest in Sweden took place later on Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. It was organized by Salwan Momika, an Iraqi national in Sweden who burned a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm last month in a similar demonstration which sparked global outrage, including in Iraq.

A Stockholm police spokesperson said “some kind of document” was burnt during Thursday’s 45-minute protest but that it was unclear whether it was a Quran, adding that police would assess whether an investigation needed to be opened.

The spokesperson said there were two people in attendance with a permit for the protest and estimated that another 150 people were present, most of them reporters.

The Swedish police have stressed that they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during them, AFP reported.

‘SERIOUS VIOLATION’

Swedish and Iraqi authorities exchanged heated words over the protests, as Baghdad threatened to sever diplomatic ties with Stockholm over Quran-burning demonstrations sanctioned by the state.

“Granting permission under the pretext of freedom of expression is viewed as provocative and contrary to international covenants and norms, which emphasize respect for religions and beliefs,” the Iraqi prime minister’s office said.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry earlier condemned the attack on the Swedish embassy. The ministry called the incident part of a concerning pattern of assaults on diplomatic missions.

The Iraqi government held an emergency meeting on Thursday to turn in the arrested individuals arrested in Baghdad to the judiciary, adding that “negligent security officials will be investigated and face appropriate legal measures.”

Prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr, whose supporters were behind the protests at the Swedish embassy, said that “Sweden’s hostility towards Islam and the holy books by giving permission to burn the Iraqi flag means Sweden doesn’t believe in Iraq.

“It’s on the government to not just express condemnation and denunciation as that shows weakness and complacency,” Sadr said.

Meanwhile, Swedish authorities strongly condemned the demonstrations in Baghdad, calling the actions of protesters “completely unacceptable.”

Iraq’s charge d’affaires in Stockholm has been summoned, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said on Thursday.

Iraq later recalled its chargé d’affaires from the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, and asked the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave the country, an Iraqi government spokesperson said Thursday.

Sweden’s embassy staff in Baghdad are all safe amid protests outside of the building, the foreign ministry’s press office told CNN via email.

“We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organizations. Attacks on embassies and diplomats constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention. Iraqi authorities have the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and diplomatic staff,” it said.

At the end of June, a man burned a copy of Islam’s holy book outside a Stockholm Mosque.

Images of the event showed he was the only person apart from his translator at the demonstration, which coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, one of the most significant dates in the Islamic calendar.