The Iraqi insurgent umbrella organization Jihad and Reform Front has threatened Norway with economic sanctions if Mullah Krekar is returned to Iraq.
Former head of the Kurdish guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam in Northern Iraq, Mullah Krekar, was given refugee status in Norway in 1991, but the authorities have since declared that he is a risk to the nation's security, and that he must be expelled. However, the expulsion order cannot be carried out, since situation in Iraq is such that Krekar could risk execution, and sending Krekar back to Iraq now would violate Norway's human rights obligations.
In February 2003 the Norwegian authorities decided that Mullah Krekar would lose his refuge status, his travel documents, as well as his work and residence permits in the interest of national security. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere says to NRK that the threat does not change anything, and that the government's decision to expel Krekar, upheld by Norwegian courts, still stands. |