2 men paid for Paludan's police applications for burning copy of Quran, Swedish daily says

By Alexandra Enberg

IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) – Two unidentified middle-aged men were the accomplice of Rasmus Paludan, who caused great anger and condemnation after his hostile act of burning a copy of the Quran last month, according to a report by local media.

The men had paid for a quarter of the 47 permit applications Paludan had filed to the police authorities, but now they are trying to erase the traces of their connection with him, Aftonbladet reported on Wednesday.

Paludan has said he received the offer for payment from at least one new member of his far-right Stram Kurs party's Swedish branch, according to the daily. The party operates both in Denmark, where Paludan is originally from and in Sweden.

He, however, did not reveal the identities of the men, failing to respond to Aftonbladet's questions in an effort to keep their identities unknown. Paluden also claimed that he hardly knew any Stram Kurs members in Sweden.

Eleven of the applications have been paid by the two men and they are both believed to be living in Orebro city, according to the report.

The first man, in his 60s, had no criminal record and was described by former colleagues as a loyal worker and the second one, in his 40s, was previously convicted of financial crimes.

The second man paid for 8 of Paludan's applications. He made the first such payment in May 2022 for a Quran-burning act in his hometown of Orebro.

According to the daily, the older man said he had been duped in an advanced fraud where he paid several fees to the Police Authority as part of the payment for a purchase of nine precious collector cars from the web auction site. But a list of all collector car sales found by Aftonbladet did not match the description the man gave.

When confronted with inconsistencies in his story, the man changed the story.

The daily also found out that the man had contact with Ingrid Carlqvist, who for several years had been a central figure in the Swedish extreme right, who is known for Islamophobic views, has openly considered collaboration with the Nazi organization Nordic Resistance Movement, and has also expressed support for Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine on Twitter.

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Stram Kurs, while surrounded and protected by the police, set the Quran on fire in Sweden's capital Stockholm in front of the Turkish Embassy in January.

Following a long rant in which he verbally attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden, he shouted: "If you don't think there should be freedom of expression, you have to live somewhere else."

The act has been since condemned by many Muslim countries, including Türkiye and various NGOs and human rights groups.