Five people were injured after a Swedish mosque was set ablaze Thursday in a suspected arson attack. “A witness saw somebody throw an object through the window of the building, which serves as a mosque, after which a violent fire began,” police spokesperson Lars Franzell said, according to Reuters. Police say the incident began during midday prayers, when around 15-20 people were inside the building, located in the central Swedish town of Eskilstuna. Swedish media carried images of firefighters battling flames engulfing the mosque, while the five injured were rushed to a local hospital. According to Franzell, the injured suffered smoke inhalation and lacerations. No arrests have been made, though police say they are investigating. Eskilstuna was the site of street clashes involving neo-Nazis earlier this year, who were protesting Sweden's immigration policy. Since then, Sweden's government has been paralyzed by demands from far-right legislators that the government slash asylum seeker admissions by 90 percent. Sweden was also spotlighted by a recent report from a group of United Nations human rights experts that warned racism in the traditionally liberal country is on the rise – mainly against Afro-Swedes. “Afro-Swedes and Africans with whom we met expressed their experiences of multiple forms of discrimination based on their skin color, race, religion and sex,” the U.N. Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent stated. While welcoming the government's plans to reform anti-discrimination legislation and develop a human rights strategy, the group warned of “racial profiling” and a failure by Swedish law enforcement to prosecute “hate crimes” against Africans and Swedes of African descent. “We are concerned that this creates feelings of mistrust in law enforcement bodies among communities and discourages them from accessing help when they themselves are victims of crime or rights abuses,” they warned. Source URL |
