Salwan Momika, an Iraqi man who sparked outrage by staging Quran-burning protests in Sweden in 2023, has been shot dead, according to Swedish authorities.

Salwan Najem was fined and given a suspended sentence over staging public burnings of the Quran. The court dropped the case against fellow campaigner Salwan Momika, who was shot and killed last week.

A Stockholm court on Monday convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred during four Quran burnings in 2023 that sparked outrage in Muslim countries, a verdict that reignited debate about the limits of freedom of expression.

Swedish prosecutors say they have ordered the release of five men who were arrested after the fatal shooting of an Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings.

The action by Salwan Momika, an Iraqi immigrant, set off protests across the Muslim world in 2023. He had received death threats, his lawyer said.

Salwan Momika’s 2023 burning of Islam’s holy book drew ire in the Muslim world. He was killed just before he was set to receive a sentence in Sweden.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after a Quran was allegedly burned in central Manchester on Saturday. The suspect, 47, was taken into custody by police after the incident near the Glade of Light memorial.