| Mullah Krekar submitted his suit against the Norwegian government in order to get the decision to deport him declared invalid. Mullah Krekar's lawyer Brynjar Meling said to the Norwegian paper VG, that Norwegian authorities have used false information from Mullah Krekar's enemies in Iraq without questioning the content to justify the deportation. "Two years of international investigation has proved that my client is not connected to any terror networks," Meling said. "We document in the notice of proceedings that PST (Norwegian Police Security Service) does not guarantee the information UDI (Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) has used, and then politics and prestige are the only things that remain." Mullah Krekar has listed a number of Norwegian politicians, diplomats and top bureaucrats as witnesses. Meling stated that it may be relevant to demand a witness statement from US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mullah Krekar is the former leader of the guerrilla group Andar al-Islam. The decision to deport him was made on orders from the Minister of Local Government Erna Solberg, February 13 of last year. The deportation is based on the suspicion that Mullah Krekar may be a threat against national security. The terror charge from the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crimes (Økokrim) was withdrawn in July of last year, and in June of this year, the charge for accessory to attempted murder and suicide bombing was dismissed. |