Swedish journalist Chang Frick, affiliated with Russian propagandist channel RT, paid for Danish far-right activist Rasmus Paludan to publicly burn the Quran near the Turkish embassy in Sweden.
The protest that took place on Saturday caused backlash in Turkey and led to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Sweden shouldn’t expect Ankara’s support for its NATO membership bid.
Swedish media suggest that Moscow was behind the Quran burning, using Frick, who has worked as a freelancer for RT and its subsidiary Ruptly.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has previously said that if Sweden and Finland join NATO it could lead to “negative implications” for peace in Europe.
Paludan confirmed to the media that the idea to burn the Quran was proposed to him by Frick.
Henrik Vinge, deputy party leader, told local media that Sweden Democrats were not involved in Paludan’s actions.
Latest reports said that Frick also paid for Paludan’s plane ticket to Sweden, but both Paludan and Frick deny it. »
