Mullah Krekar submitted his suit against the Norwegian government Wednesday.
His lawyer said US Secretary of State may be called to give a witness
statement in the case.
Foto: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / SCANPIX
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was withdrawn in July of last year, and in June of this year, the charge for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.