Swedish prosecutors have charged two men with inciting ethnic hatred over several protests invol ving the burning of Korans in 2023, which sparked widespread outrage in Muslim countries and raised fears of attack on jihadists.

Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Korans at a slew of protests, and co-protester Salwan Najem were charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.

The two men had committed offences of agitation against an ethnic or national group on four separate occasions when burning Islam’s holy book outside a mosque and in other public places, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement.

“Both men are prosecuted for having on these four occasions made statements and treated the Koran in a manner intended to express contempt for Muslims because of their faith,” Senior Prosecutor Anna Hankkio said in a statement.

“In my opinion, the men’s statements and actions fall under the provisions on agitation against an ethnic or national group and it is important that this matter is tried in court,” the prosecutor added.

As a direct result of the pair’s actions, Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.

In August last year, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of five after the Koran burnings had made the country a “prioritised target”.

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.

Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair’s actions.