Sweden Tightens Border Guard After Al-Quran Burning

Swedish Police Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/John Christian Fjellestad)

JAKARTA - The Swedish government says threats against the country have increased following the recent burning of Korans, so it has decided to tighten border controls to give the police wider powers, to stop and search people as a result.

A new law, which took effect in early August, gives police broader powers to carry out checks within and around the country's borders, including body searches and allows for increased electronic surveillance.

"Border control is a measure that provides us with the conditions to identify persons entering Sweden who may pose a threat to security," Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told a news conference, reported by Reuters, August 2.

Sweden and Denmark have seen a series of protests in recent weeks, in which copies of the Koran have been burned or vandalized, sparking outrage in Muslim countries, demanding the governments of the Nordic nations stop the burning.

Koran burnings resumed on Monday, prompting both countries to say they were exploring ways to legally limit such acts, in a bid to defuse tensions.

Denmark's security police said Monday that, like Sweden, the country is experiencing an increased risk of attack as a result of the crisis.

On Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the situation was "dangerous", "complicated" and "taking advantage of people who want Sweden to get hurt," including by Russia which might use the situation to its advantage.

"This is probably to prevent Sweden's NATO accession," PM Kristersson told a news conference.

Sweden is known to have submitted an application to join NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the application has not been ratified by the Turkish parliament.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would seek to have Sweden's application approved. However, he also warned that this would not happen as long as copies of the Koran were still being burned in Sweden.

PM Kristersson said it was important to defuse the situation and urged people to use free speech responsibly and respectfully.

The Swedish government is also looking into changes that could allow police to stop the public burning of Qurans, if doing so poses a threat to national security, said PM Kristersson.

However, he added, major changes to free speech laws were not in the plans.