STOCKHOLM: An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who repeatedly burned the Holy Quran in 2023, sparking outrage in Muslim countries, has been shot dead south of Stockholm, investigators said Thursday, with Sweden’s prime minister suggesting “a foreign power” might have been involved.

Prosecutor Rasmus Oman confirmed to AFP that an investigation had been opened into the murder of 38-year-old Salwan Momika and that five people had been arrested.

“We’re in the very early stages… there’s a lot of information gathering. Five people have been detained suspected of involvement in the crime,” Oman said.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters at a press conference: “I can guarantee that the security services are deeply involved in this because there is obviously a risk that there is also a link to foreign power.”

A Stockholm court had been due to rule Thursday whether Momika, a Christian Iraqi, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred but said it had postponed its ruling until February 3 as a result of his death.

Police responded late on Wednesday to a call about a shooting in an apartment building in the city of Sodertalje, where Momika lived. There they found a man who had been shot, and who later died in hospital, a police statement said.

Several media outlets reported that the shooting may have been broadcast live on social media.

The Aftonbladet newspaper said the attacker was able to gain entry into the building through the roof.

In August, Momika and a fellow protester Salwan Najem were charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.

Prosecutors have previously said that under Swedish law, the burning of a holy Quran can be seen as a critique of the book and the religion, and thus be protected under free speech.