German prosecutors charge 2 men accused of planning an attack in Sweden over Quran burnings

BERLIN -- Two men accused of planning an attack in Sweden for an affiliate of the Islamic State group in response to the burning of copies of the Quran have been charged in Germany, where they were arrested earlier this year, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The two Afghan citizens, identified only as Ibrahim M.G. and Ramin N. in line with German privacy rules, were charged with conspiring to commit a crime and violating export laws. Ibrahim M.G. was charged with membership in a terrorist organization and Ramin N. with supporting one.

The men were arrested on March 19 near Gera in eastern Germany. Federal prosecutors said they filed the indictment on Aug. 12 to the state court in Jena, which will decide whether and when the case goes to trial.

Ibrahim M.G. is accused of joining an IS affiliate that has carried out attacks in Afghanistan and elsewhere, known variously as ISIS-K, IS-K or ISPK, in August 2023. Prosecutors said that prior to that, the two suspects collected about 2,000 euros ($2,220) in Germany in donations for IS.

Ibrahim M.G. allegedly was tasked by the IS affiliate in summer last year with carrying out an attack in Europe as a reaction to Quran burnings in Sweden and elsewhere. The two suspects planned to kill police officers and other people near the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm using firearms and made “concrete preparations” in close consultation with members of the group, prosecutors said in a statement.

The two men conducted online research on the location and tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to procure weapons, prosecutors said.