riots spread to Ronneby the following day when about 20 persons were involved in public violence in Ronneby, where they set fire to tires, threw rocks at police, emergency services and buildings. A policeman was wounded when he was struck by a rock. Arriving police were at first outmatched and had to retreat and wait for reinforcements. Three people were arrested and six were detained, suspected of violent rioting. The rioters protested against the burning of a Quran in front of a community building which was used by the Arab culture association (Swedish: Arabiska kulturföreningen) for Friday prayers. According to an eyewitness, the rioters attempted to set fire to a church in Ronneby but a bystander put out the fire with his jacket, whereupon the rioters attacked him and he was wounded. The riot got extensive exposure in social media. Aftermath About 15 people were arrested, and several police officers were injured. Most of the suspects of the Ronneby riots were men aged 18-30 and previously known to police for trading narcotics, vandalism and theft. All spokesmen interviewed by public service broadcaster SVT agreed that the rioters weren't "true Muslims". A prominent Malmö imam responded "Those who are acting in this way have nothing to do with Islam". On 31 August, the police started investigating reports of antisemitic hate speech from the Muslim rioters. In November 2020, prosecutors declared that burning the Qu'ran does not constitute hate speech against a minority and therefore halted the investigation. Related events On 29 August, clashes broke out at an anti-Islam rally Oslo, Norway, after a protester desecrated the Qur'an at the rally. See also Quran desecration List of riots in Sweden 2008 Malmö mosque riots 2022 Sweden riots Islam in Sweden Immigration and crime References 2020 riots 2020s in Malmö Counter-jihad Events in Malmö Race riots in Sweden Religious riots August 2020 events in Sweden Quran-related controversies