An Oslo city court ordered the release on Monday of Mullah Krekar, the controversial former leader of guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam. State prosecutors had arrested him Friday on charges tied to at least two suicide bombings. Krekar was charged under several paragraphs of Norway’s criminal code linked to alleged murder attempts in Northern Iraq in the spring of 2002. Prosecutors had sought to keep Krekar in custody for at least four weeks, but the Oslo court claimed they lacked sufficient evidence.
Prosecutors earlier vowed they’d appeal any release, and Krekar remained in jail Monday evening pending that appeal. They reportedly had relied on various statements Krekar made over the Internet recently, claiming they contained coded messages to terror groups around the world. Among them were Krekar’s alleged justification of suicide bombings, which he claimed are simply a part of jihad, or holy war. In addition to arresting him, police raided Krekar’s apartment and seized his family’s computer, fax machine and several mobile telephones. Krekar’s defense attorney rejected the prosecution’s arguments, saying his client merely has given a few speeches over the Internet and responded to questions from Islamic followers. Krekar himself claims he hasn’t done anything wrong.
Krekar first came to Norway as a refugee in 1991 but later travelled back and forth to Northern Iraq several times and ultimately led the Kurdish guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam there. His guerrilla activities set off a storm of controversy both in and out of Norway, once they became known. Norwegian officials eventually claimed that he had violated the terms of his asylum status. He has managed to remain in Norway, however, at least in part because his former home territory in Northern Iraq is now subject to US bombing and because no other country will take him. US officials also singled out Ansar al-Islam for having alleged links to the terrorist group al-Qaeda, and pressured to have Krekar detained. German authorities also have Ansar al-Islam under investigation, especially after a recent alleged terrorist action in Hamburg was defused. |