Turkish vice president condemns Quran burning in Sweden

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz on Wednesday condemned the burning of the Quran in Sweden.

"I condemn the despicable act against our holy book, the Quran, on the first day of Eid in Sweden," he said. "Defending hate crimes under the guise of freedom of expression is a violation of the rights of those who are the victims of these crimes and a real blow to freedom of expression.”

"Our holy book does not lose not even a bit of value because of these vile acts. Those who will lose are those who make these provocations and those who keep silent," he added.

A Swedish appeals court on June 12 upheld a lower court's decision to overturn a ban on Quran burning, ruling that police had no legal grounds to prevent two Quran burning protests earlier this year.

In February, police refused permission for two Quran burning attempts, citing security concerns, after far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm in January.

Later, two individuals who attempted to stage provocative actions outside the Iraqi and Turkish embassies in Stockholm appealed the decision.

In April, the Stockholm Administrative Court reversed the decision, ruling that security risks were insufficient to restrict the ability to demonstrate.

Since last year, soon after the beginning of the Ukraine war and subsequent security concerns, Sweden has sought to join the NATO alliance.

But long-time NATO member Türkiye objected due to security concerns, including Sweden's tolerance for terror groups that threaten Türkiye, as well as the country allowing provocative anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish actions under the pretext of "freedom of expression."