The freelance journalist Kassem Hamadé tells Ekot that Momika felt "alone, abandoned, and isolated" and wanted to move to a country where he could feel safer. The USA was at the top of his wish list.
He explicitly told me that "I will be killed before the year is over", and "they are after me", says Hamadé to Ekot.
On Wednesday evening, Salwan Momika was shot to death in an apartment in Södertälje.
Five people arrested on suspicion of involvement in Momika's murder were released on Friday. The suspicions are not entirely dismissed yet, and the investigation continues.
The police have neither confirmed nor denied whether Salwan Momika had personal protection or not. National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh has stated that they never comment on personal protection in individual cases.
Momika was charged with incitement to racial hatred after burning Korans in the summer of 2023. The verdict was to be announced on Thursday. Due to Momika's death, the charges were dropped, while the verdict against the co-defendant Salwan Najem was postponed.
