Daily Times

OSLO: A Norwegian court on Wednesday gave the green light for the extradition of a controversial Kurdish Iraqi cleric Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad to Italy.

Najmuddin, also known as Mullah Krekar, is accused of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group. “A swift and complete resolution of the affair and respect for international penal cooperation speak in favour of pursuing penal procedure in Italy,” the Oslo city court ruled.

He has lived in Norway as a refugee since 1991 but now Italy has requested his extradition in the belief the 59-year-old is a fundamentalist who associates with militants. He had served jail terms in Norway twice, for threats and inciting violent behaviour.

Iraqi attempts to have him extradited failed over Norwegian fears that he could face the death penalty at home. On Wednesday, his lawyer Brynjar Meling citing alleged procedural irregularities said that his client would appeal. “We have not had access to the original (case) documents,” Meling told AFP.

He also suggested that Oslo was looking for any excuse to have him leave a country because it views him as a security threat. Italy wants to charge him over alleged terror plotting in the belief that he leads Rawti Shax, an internet-based offshoot of extremist group Ansar al-Islam and helps to recruit militants.

Meling also said that accusations against Najmuddin should be heard in Norway.