MULLAH KREKAR: GOVERNMENT SAYS EXPULSION SOON

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000316 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR, DSERCC,DS/IP/ITA, DS/IP/EUR COPENHAGEN FOR LEGATT OVP FOR JIM MARRS JUSTICE FOR SWARTZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2016 TAGS: ASEC PTER PREL NO KJUS SUBJECT: MULLAH KREKAR: GOVERNMENT SAYS EXPULSION SOON REF: 05 OSLO 1456 Classified By: P/E Counselor Mike Hammer, reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (U) Norwegian Labor and Integration Minister Bjarne Haakon Hansen told the press on March 16 that the time was fast approaching for Norway to enter into discussions with Iraq about the conditions for the return of former Ansar al-Islam leader Faraj Ahmed Najmuddin (aka Mullah Krekar). "This is my first priority," said Hansen, who went on to say that he fully supports the decision of the previous Interior Minister Erna Solberg that Krekar poses a threat to Norway's national security. (Note: with the post election reorganization of Norway's ministerial responsibilities, responsibility for all immigration issues was transferred on January 1, 2006 from the Interior Ministry to the newly reconfigured Labor and Integration Ministry. End Note.) ¶2. (U) Hansen highlighted that within 60 days Iraq will have a new President and government, with whom Norway will seek to conclude an agreement about the conditions of Krekar's return. Hansen said that these conditions must include a guarantee that he will not be subject to the death penalty in Iraq, or subject to torture. Krekar's appeal of the administrative expulsion order, upheld by the Norwegian lower court in September 2005 (reftel),is due to come before a Norwegian appeals court sometime in the fall of 2006; however, Minister Hansen states clearly that he sees no reason to wait until Krekar's appeal is finished, but wants Krekar out of Norway as soon as feasible. ¶3. (C) Comment. Hansen's statements come sharp on the heels of a lengthy interview that Krekar gave to the press to on March 13, in which he praised Osama bin Laden as a "good man who is fighting to establish a home for the Muslims." Such statements increase public support for the government's efforts to expel Krekar. He has no constituency in Norway on his side, and if the Norwegian government is successful in securing an agreement with Iraq on the conditions for Krekar's return, the government can expel him without fear of negative domestic Norwegian reaction. Muslim Norwegians are among the loudest Krekar critics, who feel that he does nothing to improve their image. That said, even though Hansen says there is no juridical reason not to expel Krekar at the soonest opportunity, the negotiations on the terms for Krekar's return for Iraq may take some time, and there is no reason to believe that Krekar's expulsion from Norway is imminent, especially given the track record of Krekar's defense team in playing Norway's legal system to Krekar's benefit. Visit Oslo's Classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m WHITNEY