Turkish offical Radio and Television (TRT) reported on Tuesday that a Turkish employee of the Honorary Consulate of Sweden in the western city of Izmir was shot and seriously wounded in front of the consulate building.
The Izmir governor’s office said in a statement that police had arrested the attacker, a registered Turkish citizen in eastern province of Ağrı.
The office added that the police are investigating the incident.
Relations between Sweden and Muslim countries have been strained following demonstrations involving the burning a copy of the Qur’an.
Two men set fire to a copy of the Qur’an in front of the Swedish parliament in Stockholm on Monday, after similar incidents in the past few weeks sparked condemnation.
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Swedish Consul General will travel to Izmir tomorrow, Wednesday, to obtain more information about the incident.
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that it’s in close contact with the Consulate General in Istanbul and its staff in Türkiye.
The Swedish Consulate General is communicating with the Honorary Consulate in Izmir and the local authorities.
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that it would not give more details about the threat to workers at the diplomatic corps or the security measures taken, because that would nullify the purpose of these measures.
Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç condemned the attack, adding that a criminal investigation had been opened into the incident.
