Published 8 February 2023 at 09.18
Domestic. The former prime minister and foreign minister Carl Bildt (M) is critical of the fact that the Stockholm police allowed Rasmus Paludan to burn a Koran outside the Turkish embassy.
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Bildt believes that the police should have taken into account potential security risks for Sweden when they made the decision to allow the burning.
– We have a difficult security situation for Swedish interests in a number of countries. This is not something to be taken lightly, says the 73-year-old US friend to SVT's “Utrikesbyrån”.
– I notice that secular friends in Turkey do not understand that we can allow what they consider as a hate crime against their religion and culture.
According to Carl Bildt, it is now time to discuss whether freedom of expression can be further restricted.
– What is a hate crime anyway? What is incitement against a ethnic group? Freedom of expression is not absolute. We have limits to freedom of speech in Sweden. Where do we draw that line? It is a legitimate discussion, says Bildt.