Swedish authorities have charged a 65-year-old pensioner on disability benefits from Växjö with “agitation against a population group” after he posted a critical image of Islam in a Facebook comments section.
Lars-Ivar Carlsén shared the image under a post by the Palestine Group in Malmö on December 11 last year. The text read
Islam is not a religion. It is a death cult for murderers, rapists, incest, and pedophiles.
Prosecutors argue the post expressed contempt for Muslims on the basis of their faith. Police collected other Facebook activity as evidence, including posts supporting Israel and mocking Swedish media. During questioning, officers repeatedly pressed Carlsén on his views of Islam, asking whether the image could hurt feelings and whether he considered it a threat or hate.
Carlsén maintains he was criticizing the religion, not any ethnic or religious group. “Islam is no population group,” he told investigators. “It goes very far to interpret this as agitation against a population group.” In a later interview he described the case as an attempt to reinstate blasphemy legislation by the back door. Police also seized his mobile phone after the interrogation.
The trial is expected at Växjö District Court.
