Five men arrested in connection with the murder of Salwan Momika, the Iraqi Christian who sparked controversy by burning copies of the Qur’an in 2023, have been dismissed as suspects, a prosecutor confirmed on Friday.
Momika, 38, was fatally shot on January 29 in an apartment in Sodertalje, south of Stockholm, just hours before a court ruling on whether he and his co-defendant, Salwan Najem, were guilty of inciting ethnic hatred. Momika was streaming a live TikTok address when the attackers burst in.
Though the five suspects were arrested shortly after the killing, they were all released within two days and formally cleared of suspicion.
“We have a fairly good idea of how events unfolded, but no one is currently in custody or a formal suspect,” said prosecutor Rasmus Oman. “We are working broadly, and I can’t go into which leads we are following.”
Momika’s death came as tensions between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries escalated over the controversial Qur’an burnings.
The Stockholm court had initially delayed its ruling, ultimately convicting Najem for inciting ethnic hatred during the burnings, though no verdict was issued for Momika.
Following the incident, Iraqis stormed Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, and Sweden raised its security threat level in response.
Swedish officials have condemned the murder, with Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch calling it “a threat to our free democracy.”
