In pics | Politician burns Quran during protests in Sweden draws condemnation from Turkiye
Danish politician Rasmus Paludan sets fire to Islam's holy book Quran
Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish right-wing political party Stram Kurs or Hard Line who is also a Swedish national was seen burning Islam's holy book Quran outside Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish police cordon off the area outside Turkish embassy
Police were seen closing the area around the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden ahead of Danish political party leader's meeting.
Protests against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Protestor was seen jumping on a banner with an image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a rally organised by The Kurdish Democratic Society Center in Sweden.
Demonstration against Sweden's NATO bid
A protest organised by the Kurdish Democratic Society Center at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, Sweden also rejected Sweden's bid to join the military alliance.
Pro-Turkiye group hold counter protest in support of Erdogan
Meanwhile, members of pro-Turkish organization Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) hold a counter protest in support of the country as well as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The demonstration also took place with the police's permission outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday.
Protests in Turkiye's Istanbul
Image shows protesters outside Swedish consulate in Turkiye's Istanbul burning Sweden's flag in response to the burning of the Quran by Paludan outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, on Saturday.
Ankara's strong condemnation
In light of Danish politician burning Islam's holy book Quran, a group of at least 200 protestors burned Sweden's flag and held a protest outside the Swedish consulate in Istanbul. Meanwhile, in a statement the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book...Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable," as per Reuters.
This comes after Ankara had urged Sweden not to grant permission to protest that includes burning Quran, "This permission is granted to this person, despite all our warnings. This vile act will take place at around 1600 Turkish time, I hope Swedish authorities will take necessary measures until then and will not allow this," the Turkish foreign minister had said prior to the protest on Saturday.
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