Sweden protects speech it finds offensive, and punishes speech that turns into contempt for people. Here is where that line runs, who needs a protest permit, what the Quran burnings changed in 2026, and what a visitor actually risks.
When you need this
You want to join a march, rally or vigil while you’re visiting or studying in Sweden. You’re thinking of organizing one yourself, or setting up a street stall with a message. You followed the news about Quran burnings and want to know why Sweden allowed them. Or you hold a residence permit and wonder whether a protest, a placard or a social media post could come back to haunt you.
Two different lines: what you say and where you gather
Sweden’s constitution, the Instrument of Government (regeringsformen), guarantees everyone freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom to demonstrate in public places and freedom of religion. The text says “everyone”, not “every citizen”. The same chapter allows parliament to place special limits on non-citizens by law, but the Public Order Act and the Criminal Code apply the same rules to everybody. The police put it simply: all people in Sweden have these freedoms.
The limits come from two separate laws, and keeping them apart explains almost everything:
| Line | Law | What it controls | What it can’t do |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you say | The Criminal Code (brottsbalken) | Hate speech, threats, defamation, insults | Punish blasphemy or insults to a religion as such |
| Where and how you gather | The Public Order Act (ordningslagen) | Permits, conditions, dispersal | Refuse a permit because of the message |
The constitution allows speech to be restricted for reasons such as national security, public order, people’s reputations and privacy, and crime prevention. It also requires particular weight on the widest possible freedom of speech in political, religious and cultural matters, and it forbids restrictions based on political, religious or cultural views alone.
Speech that is a crime
Sweden has no blasphemy law and no crime of insulting a religion. What it does have is a short list of speech crimes that apply to everyone, in person or online.
| Crime | What it covers | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Hets mot folkgrupp (agitation against a population group) | Threatening, inciting violence against or expressing contempt for a group, or someone in it, by reference to race, skin color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity, in a message that is spread | Two years; fines if minor; six months to four years if grave |
| Olaga hot (unlawful threat) | Threatening someone with a crime so as to cause serious fear | Two years; one to four years if grave |
| Förtal (defamation) | Pointing someone out as criminal or blameworthy | Fines; up to two years if grave |
| Förolämpning (insult) | Words or behavior aimed at someone’s dignity | Fines or six months |
| Disturbing a public gathering | Disrupting a service or meeting with violence or noise | Fines or six months |
Since 1 July 2024, hets mot folkgrupp also covers denying, excusing or plainly trivializing a genocide, crime against humanity, war crime or crime of aggression that a court has established, when that threatens or shows contempt for a protected group. “A message that is spread” includes posts, banners and chants, not just speeches. Defamation and insult cases are mostly brought by the victim, not the state.
Two more rules are worth knowing. A hate motive, meaning a motive to offend someone for their ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation or similar, makes any crime more serious at sentencing. And Sweden has no specific ban on Nazi or racist symbols, but the Supreme Court held in 1996 (NJA 1996 s. 577) that wearing Nazi-linked badges in public was hets mot folkgrupp, and the government later found no need for a separate ban.
Demonstrations and permits
A demonstration open to the public in a street, square or park is a public gathering (allmän sammankomst) under the Public Order Act, and it needs a police permit. The duty falls on the organizer: taking part in a gathering that has no permit is not a crime.
- How to apply: in writing to the Police Authority, if possible at least one week ahead. The police ask for as much notice as possible, and four months if you need a public road. If you have no Swedish personal identity number, you use a paper form instead of the e-service.
- The message isn’t examined: you don’t have to tell the police what will be said.
- Refusal is narrow: only for order or safety at the gathering or its immediate surroundings, traffic, or epidemic control. Where that’s enough, the police must offer another time or place instead.
- On the day: the organizer keeps order, and the police can set conditions such as a number of stewards or keeping an entrance clear. A missing permit alone isn’t a reason to disperse a demonstration.
- Dispersal: only for serious disorder, considerable danger to those present or serious traffic disruption.
- Organizer’s penalty: a fine or up to six months for holding a gathering without a permit or in breach of a decision.
A few rules apply to everyone in the crowd. Covering your face is banned only when disorder breaks out or is imminent, and religious face coverings are always exempt. Counter-demonstrating is allowed, but drowning out another demonstration is not. Breaking a police cordon or ignoring orders in a disruptive crowd can be a crime. Most public spots also need a police permit for posters. Want to photograph the crowd? See photographing people in Sweden.
The Quran burnings, and what changed in 2026
In February 2023 the police refused two permits for Quran burnings outside the Turkish and Iraqi embassies in Stockholm, saying public safety could not be guaranteed. The administrative courts overturned both refusals. In June 2023 the appeal court held that the security problems the police cited weren’t tied closely enough to the gatherings or their immediate surroundings. The law lets the police weigh order at the event, not the country’s security in general.
So the burnings went ahead, and prosecutors charged the burners instead for what they said and did. The courts have drawn the line case by case:
| Case | Court and date | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Salwan Najem, four burnings in 2023 | Stockholm District Court, February 2025 | Convicted of hets mot folkgrupp for contempt for Muslims; suspended sentence and fines; appeal announced |
| Rasmus Paludan, April 2022 burning | Court of Appeal for Skåne and Blekinge, October 2025 | Cleared: the statements were criticism of religion |
| Rasmus Paludan, September 2022 burning | Same ruling | Conviction upheld: statements about ethnic groups |
The police summarize the rule this way: insulting a religious symbol is not in itself hets mot folkgrupp. What decides the case is whether the words and acts around it express contempt for believers as a group. Flag burning works the same way: usually not punishable, but it can be disorderly conduct or hets mot folkgrupp in context, and burning someone else’s flag is criminal damage.
Changed in 2026: Older guides may still describe the previous rule; since 1 July 2026 (Lag 2026:729) the police may cancel a public gathering in advance when that is necessary for the safety of people’s lives or health, for example a credible attack threat, and only if milder measures aren’t enough. National security is still not a ground for refusing a permit: a 2024 inquiry proposed it, and the government left it out of the 2026 reform.
What visitors and permit holders risk
For a tourist, the honest answer is: the same as a Swede. Nothing in the Public Order Act or the Criminal Code treats visitors differently, and you can join any lawful demonstration. What you can be prosecuted for is a crime you commit there, from threats and hate speech to violence or ignoring police orders. For what officers may ask and do on the street, see the Swedish police, and if you’re the target of a threat or a hate crime, see reporting a crime as a tourist.
For people living in Sweden on a residence permit, one thing changed in 2026. Since 13 July 2026, a broader assessment of a person’s conduct (vandel) can lead to a permit being refused or revoked, and a criminal conviction counts. Parliament was explicit that only statements that are crimes, decided in a criminal court, may be used, never lawful opinions. Permits based on EU law are outside the new rule.
Some general habits keep you safe:
- Aim criticism at ideas, governments and institutions, not at people as a group.
- Leave a mask off if trouble starts, and follow police instructions and cordons.
- Remember that online posts are covered by the same speech crimes as a speech in a square.
Practical information
| Item | What to know | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Joining a demonstration | Free; no permit needed for participants | 2026-10-14 |
| Police permit application for a public gathering | SEK 360, paid before processing, not refunded on refusal | 2026-10-14 |
| When to apply | At least one week ahead if possible; four months if a public road is used | 2026-10-14 |
| Without a Swedish ID number | Use the police paper form, not the e-service | 2026-10-14 |
| Fines for organizing without a permit | Set per case by a court or prosecutor; no fixed amount published | 2026-10-14 |
FAQ
Is burning the Quran legal in Sweden?
There is no law against burning a religious text, and Sweden has no blasphemy law. The police say insulting a religious symbol is not in itself agitation against a group. But what you say or show while doing it can be: a Stockholm court convicted Salwan Najem in February 2025 for expressing contempt for Muslims during 2023 burnings.
Can tourists join protests in Sweden?
Yes. The constitution gives everyone freedom of expression, assembly and demonstration, and the police confirm these rights apply to all people in Sweden. Simply taking part in a demonstration, even one without a permit, is not a crime. You still answer for any crime you commit there, such as threats, hate speech or violence.
Do I need a permit to protest in Sweden?
Only the organizer does. A public gathering in a public place such as a street, square or park needs a police permit, applied for in writing, ideally a week or more ahead. Organizing without one can bring a fine or up to six months in prison. Participants need no permit, and the police may not refuse because of your message.
What is hets mot folkgrupp?
It is Sweden’s hate-speech crime: threatening, inciting violence against or expressing contempt for a group by reference to race, skin color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity, in a message that is spread. It carries up to two years in prison, fines if minor, and six months to four years if grave.
Why didn’t Swedish police stop the Quran burnings?
Because the law lets them refuse a permit only for order and safety at the gathering, traffic or epidemics. In 2023 the administrative courts overturned two police refusals, finding the security problems cited not tied closely enough to the events. A 2024 proposal to add national security as a ground was left out of the 2026 reform.
Can protesting affect my residence permit?
Lawful protest cannot. Since 13 July 2026 Migrationsverket can weigh a person’s conduct when granting or revoking many residence permits, and a criminal conviction counts. Parliament stressed that only statements that are crimes, decided in a criminal court, may be used. Permits based on EU law are outside the new rule.
Related guides
- The Swedish police — what officers may ask and do at a demonstration or anywhere else
- Swedish laws tourists break without knowing — the other rules that catch visitors out
- Photographing people in Sweden — filming crowds, police and protesters
- Offentlighetsprincipen — the other half of Sweden’s constitutional openness
- Press freedom and anonymous sources — how the media side of free speech works
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Regeringsformen, Ordningslag 1993:1617, Brottsbalk 1962:700, Lag 2005:900, prop. 2025/26:133, SfU36), Polismyndigheten, Svensk författningssamling and court reporting by Realtid, TT, The Local and Al Jazeera — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.