Swedish police have arrested five people in connection with the fatal shooting of Salwan Momika, the Iraqi-born man known for staging several Quran-burning protests. Momika, 38, was shot indoors late Wednesday and later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, authorities confirmed.

Investigation and Arrests

According to a police statement, officers arrived at the scene to find a man who had been “hit by shots” before being rushed to the hospital. Authorities later announced multiple arrests related to the case.

"Police arrested five people overnight. Prosecutors have detained them," the statement read. Prosecutor Rasmus Oman told AFP that the investigation was still in its early stages, with significant information still being gathered.

Swedish media reported that Momika was live-streaming on TikTok at the time of the shooting.

Momika’s Pending Court Case

Momika was due to appear at Stockholm District Court on Thursday for the verdict in a case against him for “agitation against an ethnic or national group.” However, the court later announced that the verdict had been postponed due to the death of one of the defendants.

Along with fellow protester Salwan Najem, Momika had been charged in August 2023 with desecrating and burning the Quran on four separate occasions. One of the protests took place outside a Stockholm mosque, where they also made derogatory remarks about Muslims.

Political and Security Implications

Momika’s protests strained Sweden’s relations with several Middle Eastern countries. In July 2023, anger over his Quran burnings led protesters in Iraq to storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice, setting fires within the compound during the second attack.

Despite allowing the demonstrations under Sweden’s freedom of speech laws, authorities had also pressed charges against him. By August 2023, Sweden’s intelligence service Säpo raised the country’s terror threat level to four on a scale of five, stating that Sweden had become a "prioritized target" due to the Quran desecrations.

In March 2024, Momika sought asylum in Norway, but Norwegian authorities deported him back to Sweden weeks later.

The fatal shooting has further heightened tensions, with Swedish authorities now working to determine whether the attack was linked to his controversial protests.