Riot in Sweden amidst Quran-burning rally

About 300 people were on the streets of Malmo with violence escalating as the evening wore on, according to police and local media.

The demonstration was connected to an incident earlier in the day in which protesters burned a copy of the Islamic holy book, police spokesman Rickard Lundqvist told Swedish tabloid Expressen.

Rasmus Paludan, who leads the far-right Danish anti-immigration party Hard Line, was due to travel to Malmo to speak at that event, which was being held on Friday a holy day for Muslims.

But authorities pre-empted Paludan’s arrival by announcing he had been banned from entering Sweden for two years. He was later arrested near Malmo.

“We suspect that he was going to break the law in Sweden,” Calle Persson, spokesman for the police in Malmo told AFP.

“There was also a risk that his behaviour… would pose a threat to society.”

But his supporters went ahead with the rally, and three people were then arrested for inciting racial hatred.

Paludan last year attracted media attention for burning a Quran wrapped in bacon – a meat that is anathema for Muslims.