OSLO, Sept 29 (AFP)
- 17h29 - Norway can legally expel the founder of
radical Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, mullah Krekar,
to Iraq, an Oslo court ruled on Thursday, rejecting
his claim that a 2003 expulsion order was invalid.
"The verdict by the court means that mullah Krekar
can be expelled from the country," court spokesman
Arild Martinsen told AFP.
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Mullah Krekar: Photo AP |
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The ruling did not,
however, imply that the expulsion would be carried
out immediately.
Norwegian authorities decided in February 2003 to
expel Krekar, whose real name is Fateh Najmeddin
Faraj, claiming he was a national security concern,
but his deportation was suspended until the
situation in Iraq improves and pending his appeal.
Krekar has insisted that he presents no threat to
Norway, noting that Norwegian police have closed
their preliminary investigation into his possible
involvement in financing terrorist activities.
Krekar has lived in Norway as a refugee since 1991,
and has been under threat of deportation since
Norwegian media revealed that he was the founder of
Ansar al-Islam, which figures on the United States'
list of terrorist organizations.
The Iraqi Kurd admits that he founded the group but
insists that he no longer heads it.
The Norwegian government last May rejected his
appeal against the deportation order, but Krekar
maintained that the order is invalid and took the
authorities to court.
"The Norwegian authorities were acquitted in court
today", Martinsen told
Krekar's defense attorney Brynjar Meling was
expected to appeal the verdict, according to his
colleague Olle Nohlin.
"I have not spoken to Brynjar Meling after the
verdict today, but we have said earlier that if we
get a rejection we will appeal the verdict," he told
AFP
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