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Norwegian authorities have dropped terrorist charges
against exiled Iraqi cleric Mullah Krekar after
investigators discovered that the main evidence
against him, provided by the US, was obtained
through torture.
Krekar, an Iraqi Kurd who has been living as a
political refugee in Norway since 1991, had been the
subject of a seven-month investigation by Norwegian
police. He had previously been acquitted of
terrorism charges by Norway’s highest court in April
2003, but was charged again in January after US
authorities passed on supposed new evidence of his
association with suicide bombings that had been
planned in northern Iraq in 2003 by the Islamic
militant group Ansar al-Islam.
Norwegian police travelled to Iraq to re-interrogate
the key witness who had testified against Krekar to
US agents while being held by the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK). The PUK is closely allied with US
forces, and its leader Jalal Talabani serves on the
US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. However, it
turned out that the new “evidence” had been
extracted using torture on prisoners held by the PUK.
According to Brynjar Meling, Krekar’s attorney, one
of the main witness against his client said that he
had been a PUK prisoner last year when he was
interrogated by US agents. The witness, Didar Khalan,
said that after being tortured over a weeklong
period by the PUK he had told his tormentors what
they wanted. He claimed that, among other abuse, his
arm was broken during one beating, and that he was
made to stand in a freezing room without clothing
and sit on blocks of ice.
During his subsequent questioning by Norwegian
police this year, Khalan took the opportunity to
refute his previous “confession” to having worked
with Krekar in planning the suicide bombing, telling
them that he had, in fact, never met Krekar.
According to human rights charities, including Human
Rights Watch, the PUK has a record of subjecting its
prisoners to mistreatment and torture. Despite this
the US authorities have continued to treat the
“evidence” handed over by the PUK as good coin. A US
State Department official told a June 15 press
briefing: “We have no independent confirmation of
his allegation of abuse while under detention by
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan forces. Any credible
allegations of mistreatment by US authorities would,
of course, be investigated, and if evidence of
criminal behaviour were to be found, the responsible
individuals would be held accountable.”
On July 15, a Norwegian state prosecutor announced
that all charges had been dropped against Krekar for
lack of evidence and fears that witness testimony in
Iraq was coerced. Krekar had been detained in
custody for seven weeks prior to his acquittal.
US frames Krekar as the “missing link”
The US has pursued Krekar, one of the main religious
and ideological figures of Ansar al-Islam, since
mid-2002. Prior to this Ansar al-Islam had been in
talks with their long-time rivals the PUK, talks
that seem to have broken down due to Ansar’s
unwillingness to support a US invasion of Iraq.
Following this failure to recruit Ansar to its
campaign to conquer Iraq, Washington swung into
action against Krekar and his organisation. The
cleric was detained in Holland for three months from
September 2003, during which time Krekar claims he
was questioned by US agents. At this time Jordanian
authorities also demanded his extradition on
drug-smuggling charges.
Meanwhile Ansar al-Islam was presented by the Bush
administration as the “missing-link” between the
Saddam Hussein regime and Al Qaeda. The New York
Times conveniently uncovered evidence of Ansar being
linked to Osama bin Laden during an investigation by
the newspaper into Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in
January 2003. The PUK provided the other end of the
“link”, claiming that it knew of Ansar al-Islam’s
connections with the secular Baathist regime. The
following month Ansar was placed on the United
Nations list of terrorist organisations.
Returning to Norway after his detention in Holland,
Krekar was arrested following an intervention by US
Secretary of State Colin Powell in January 2003.
After meeting with Norway’s Foreign Minister Jan
Petersen, Powell proclaimed that the US did not want
people suspected of terrorist activities “going out
and taking part in new actions”. The Norwegian
government then moved against Krekar, with the
cleric being investigated by police and Norway’s
special Economic Crime Unit (Oekokrim) and charged
with terrorist offences, while government ministers,
including Prime Minister Bondevik and Immigration
Minister Erna Solberg, issued statements against
him.
Following Krekar’s acquittal by the Norwegian
Supreme Court in April 2003 the US continued its
pursuit. During a visit to Norway in September, US
Attorney General John Ashcroft reiterated that the
Bush administration was concerned that Krekar be
dealt with.
After an initial reluctance to support the US
invasion of Iraq without a UN mandate, the Norwegian
government moved quickly to re-establish itself as a
US ally in the so-called “war on terror”. As well as
its willingness to hound Krekar at the behest of
Washington, the Bondevik government sent 150
Norwegian troops to aid the occupation of Iraq.
Although the deployment in southern Iraq has come to
an end, Peterson has indicated the government’s
willingness to continue Norwegian co-operation with
the US in Iraq and has refused to rule out future
deployment.
The Norwegian authorities continued to pursue Krekar
until July 2004, when his legal team discovered that
key witnesses against Krekar had been tortured into
giving evidence against him.
According to Krekar’s lawyers, Norwegian
investigators failed to reveal any evidence linking
Krekar to Al Qaeda—the central claim of the US for
the past 18 months. They have described the case as
“a political trial”, with the Norwegian police under
pressure from the US. Meling has gone on record as
saying that the US persecution of his client was not
based on any verifiable evidence, and that claims
that Krekar and Ansar al-Islam represented a
“missing link” between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda
had been “created” with the help of the PUK in order
to justify the war.
Meanwhile, in Denmark allegations of prisoner abuse
by members of the 500-plus deployment of Danish
soldiers in Iraq have led to the recall of all top
officers including the battalion commander, the head
of military police, the head of military
intelligence and the chief legal officer.
The Danish army is investigating complaints from
several of its own soldiers about the use of stress
positions and water deprivation against Iraqi
prisoners by Danish interrogators at Camp Eden in
southern Iraq. As well as the two senior officers, a
lower ranking intelligence officer and several
troops are being investigated.
Denmark’s Defence Minister Soren Gade, told Danish
television, “There may be doubt about the
leadership’s judgement and I have therefore decided
to send home the commanders.” Later an armed forces
spokesman Lt. Col. Hans-Christian Mathiesen told
Reuters that there would be an investigation
involving several Danish personnel.
It is the second case to have leaked out alleging
prisoner abuse by Danish forces in Iraq. In May, a
Danish soldier was officially reprimanded for
assaulting an Iraqi prisoner with the butt of a
rife.
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