Najumuddin Faraj Ahmad, better known as Mullah Krekar, Norway
2015
(AFP Photo/Audun Braastad)
Oslo (AFP) - A court in Oslo on
Monday authorised police to banish Iraqi Kurd "hate preacher" Mullah
Krekar to a remote Norwegian village.
The mullah, 58, who has been living in Norway since 1991, founded the radical Islamist group Ansar al-Islam.
He
was released from prison at the end of January after serving a
two-year, 10-month sentence for making threats against Prime Minister
Erna Solberg, before she came to office, and three Kurds.
The
police had invoked special measures to order Krekar, whose real name is
Najmeddine Faraj Ahmad, to live in a refugee centre in Kyrksaeteroera, a
village of 2,500 people situated 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the
capital.
The defence had
argued that the court needed to examine the legality of the decision,
which prohibits the married father of four from leaving the village and
which requires him to report to local police three times a week.
"With
some misgivings, the court considers that the basic national interest,
at least until 31 December 2015, must take precedence over Faraj's right
to a family life, freedom to move freely throughout the country and to
choose his own place of residence," read the court's decision.
Krekar's lawyer, Brynjar Meling, appealed the decision and asked that it be suspended pending review.
Krekar
has been living under risk of deportation since 2003 after Norwegian
authorities ordered him to be expelled, claiming he posed a threat to
national security.
While Norway's court system has upheld the ruling, Norwegian law bars him from being deported to Iraq, where he risks the death penalty.
While Krekar acknowledges having co-founded Ansar al-Islam, he insists he has not led the group since 2002.
The preacher and the group Ansar al-Islam figure on United Nations and US lists of terrorist groups or individuals.
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