Thousands in Turkey protest Sweden Koran-burning

STORY: The Koran-burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line, outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

Paludan, who also has Swedish citizenship, has held a number of demonstrations in the past where he has burned the Koran.

On the permit he obtained from Swedish police, it says his protest was held against Islam and what it called Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to influence freedom of expression in Sweden.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that Islamophobic provocations were appalling.

On Saturday, Turkey said that due to lack of measures to restrict protests, it had canceled a planned visit to Ankara by the Swedish defense minister.