Finnish police prevent Quran burning at rally in Helsinki

Yle reports that a statement about the upcoming protest was filed with the police, and that the policemen learned about the plans to burn the Quran from social media.

“We contacted the organizers of the demonstration and told them that this is not legal in Finland,” Heikki Porola, the chief commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said. 

He also said that it is a normal practice for the police to contact the organizers of demonstrations in advance. The protesters took into account the police's comments. Last week, a protest was held, but the Quran was not burned.

• On January 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country demands that Sweden and Finland extradite about 130 people it considers terrorists in order to approve their accession to NATO.

• On January 30, Erdogan said that Ankara could approve Finland's accession to NATO separately from Sweden and shock Stockholm. According to Erdogan, Sweden has not fulfilled Turkey's demands and has not yet extradited 120 people whom Ankara considers terrorists.