The police have no legal support for denying a Koran burning outside the Iraqi embassy on Monday, according to journalist and freedom of expression expert Nils Funcke, who believes that the police cannot refer to the fact that the Koran burning could mean an increased terrorist threat to Sweden.
- You can only refuse permission with reference to the fact that it could become unsettling at the exact place and time where the manifestation takes place.
The decision cannot be justified by an increased terrorist threat against Sweden, he says in Aktuellt.
The former moderate defense minister Mikael Odenberg, however, believes that a Koran burning outside an embassy could be equated with outrageous behavior.
- Of course you have to be able to criticize a religion, but burning a Koran without a mosque or a Torah without a synagogue is not criticism of religion.
It should fall under outrageous behavior, he says.
See more of the debate in the player above.