Two Afghan men have been convicted in Germany of planning to kill Swedish MPs
A court in Germany has sentenced two Afghan men to jail for plotting an attack on the Swedish parliament following Quran desecrations in Sweden. The Thuringian Higher Regional Court announced Thursday that they were found guilty of supporting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and conspiring to commit murder.
Ibrahim MG, 30, received a prison sentence of five years and six months, while Ramin N., 24, was sentenced to four years and two months, according to court documents.
”The defendants, who arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016, identified with the ideology of Islamic State (IS),” the court stated. “They embraced IS’s worldview and supported the violent methods of this terrorist organization,” it added.
The court stated that the defendants planned the attack as a response to Quran burnings in Sweden. Their plan involved using firearms to kill members of parliament and anyone who resisted their attack. The men researched locations in Stockholm, travel to Sweden, and methods for obtaining weapons online.
Authorities, who had been monitoring the suspects, arrested them in March 2024 after they attempted to purchase firearms on the black market in the Czech Republic.
In addition to planning the attack, Ibrahim MG, who was a member of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), a regional branch of IS, sent money to help the women and children of IS militants in a Syrian refugee camp, the court added.
In determining the sentence, the court took into account the defendants’ confessions and their lack of prior convictions. The verdict is preliminary, pending review by the Federal Court of Justice following an appeal.
Sweden has experienced a series of Quran-burning incidents recently, with similar demonstrations occurring in Norway and Denmark. These incidents sparked angry protests across many Muslim-majority nations.
While condemning the burnings, Swedish authorities have largely permitted them to proceed, citing the country’s laws protecting freedom of expression.
Numerous Muslim-majority countries have denounced the incidents as Islamophobic, with Türkiye even threatening to obstruct Sweden’s NATO membership. However, Ankara later ratified the bid, and the Nordic country officially joined the US-led military alliance in March 2024.
Stockholm announced plans in 2023 to amend the Public Order Act to prevent future Quran-burning incidents. However, no legislative changes have been enacted to date.
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