Mullah Krekar
Encyclopedia
Mullah Krekar (born Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad July 7, 1956) is a Kurdish
Sunni Islamist terrorist who came to Norway
as a refugee
from northern Iraq in 1991. His wife and four children have Norwegian
citizenship, but not Krekar himself. He speaks Kurdish
, Arabic
, Norwegian
and English
.
Krekar was the original leader of the Islamist armed group Ansar al-Islam
, which was set up and commenced operations in Kurdistan
while he had refugee status in Norway
. Krekar claims, however, not to have had foreknowledge of the various terrorist attacks performed by the group he was leading. Since February 2003 he has an expulsion order against him, which is suspended pending Iraqi government guarantees that he will not face torture or execution. Norway is committed to international treaties which prohibit the expulsion of an individual without such a guarantee.
Authorities in the Kurdistan Regional Government have repeatedly asked for Ahmad ("Krekar") to be extradited from Norway. The death penalty remains on the books in the Kurdistan region. Most death sentences have been changed into life sentences since the Kurdistanian authorities took power in 1992, the exception being that eleven alleged members of Ansar al-Islam were hanged in the regional capital of Arbil
in October 2006. He has as of 8 December 2006 been on the UN
terror list, and as of 8 November 2007 been judged by the High Court
of Norway as a "danger to national security".
, claiming that for Jihad
ists there is no legitimate state, with the exception of the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
. For the Islamic "super-state" he wanted Osama bin Laden
, Al-Qaida-top Ayman al-Zawahiri
or Hizb-e Islami-founder Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
as leader, and other radical Islamists
as leader, citing for instance Gulbuddin Hekmatyar or Ayman Al-Zawahiri
as the foreign minister. As a result the Progress Party
continued their call for the imprisonment of Krekar, and the Labour Party
stated for the first time they would form a new task force which would examine if people officially labeled as "danger to national security" (as Krekar is) could be imprisoned. Azzam Tamimi
, a supporter of Hamas
, who had done the interview with Krekar, also said that he felt Krekar had been treated badly in Norway.
, the Norwegian government revoked his refugee status on the grounds that he had traveled back to his homeland and spent long periods there.
Krekar was arrested in the Netherlands
at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam
in September 2002, after Iran
denied him entry and sent him back to Europe. He was interviewed by FBI agents (at Krekar's request, in an attempt to clear his and his group's name); no extradition request was made. He was deported to Norway in January 2003.
In February 2003 the Norwegian government ordered Krekar to be deported to Iraq
, but as of July 2009 the order had not been implemented because of the security environment in Iraq, and the risk that Krekar could face the death penalty there, as Norway will not deport people in these circumstances. Krekar has unsuccessfully challenged the expulsion order in court, with the order being confirmed in September 2005. Norway's government has said that the new government to be elected in Iraq in December 2005 might permit discussion on whether Krekar's expulsion order can be implemented.
On March 21, 2003 his arrest was ordered by Økokrim
, the Norwegian law enforcement agency
for financial crime, to ensure he did not leave the country while accusations that he had financed terrorist
attacks using Norway as a base were investigated. Court proceedings against Krekar were however dropped when it proved impossible to prove his connections with the terrorist attacks staged in Iraq by Ansar al-Islam
during his leadership. His term as leader ended.
The United States
government has declared Ansar al-Islam a terrorist group, but Krekar denies that it was during the time he headed it, and says he no longer does. While Krekar has not been found guilty of anything, a number of his opinions have met little sympathy; he was once recorded claiming that Osama bin Laden
is the "jewel in the crown of Islam
". and that he was proud of what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
"has done and that he has become a martyr".
In September 2005 the Iraqi Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal
said that Krekar was wanted in Iraq and should be tried there.
About the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
, he said to the Norwegian media "This is a declaration of war against of our religion, our faith, and our civilization. We Muslims are ready for this."
Krekar told the Kurdish
magazine Awene that he wants to return to Iraq to fight openly against the Iraqi government and the coalition, but that he lacked travel documents from the Norwegian government. He confirmed to a Norwegian newspaper that he had been correctly quoted. The Norwegian minister of labour and migration, Bjarne Håkon Hanssen
, responded that Krekar could leave at any time and that he would be given "travel documents within the day. He'll also get money for airline tickets, taxi cab, and the whole deal. If he really wants to go, that is." Krekar is still living in Norway.
On December 7, 2006, the United States Department of the Treasury
designated mullah Krekar as one of five individuals providing financial support to terrorist organizations. In a statement he is accused of providing funds for Ansar al-Sunnah, an active Iraqi terror-organization descended from Ansar al-Islam
. The press release states that "This designation freezes any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designees". Mullah Krekar was later that day added to the United Nations Security Council
list of individuals belonging to or associated with the Al-Qaeda organization. All member states of the United Nations
are obliged to freeze assets and prevent entry or transit through their territories with regard to the individuals included on the list. Anders Romarheim, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies
, believes that the placement of mullah Krekar on this list is a United States strategy to put pressure on Norway.
On November 8, 2007, the Supreme Court of Norway ruled that Krekar is a threat to Norway's national security, thus upholding the February 2003 decision by the government to deport him to Iraq. It is still unclear when Krekar will be deported due to Iraq's death penalty laws. Some politicians asked for Krekar to be put in jail until he is deported.
On July 12, 2011, terrorism charges were filed against him for a death threat he uttered against ex-minister Erna Solberg
during a news conference in June 2010.
, including Cynthia Dame Logan and Gregory Asherleighs, were sent to Norway.
They arrived directly after the abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
from Milan
, Italy. The agents are allegedly wanted within the Schengen
area of jurisdiction. A few days before their arrival, Mullah Krekar's lawyer, Brynjar Meling
, asked for police protection of Krekar. The Norwegian Intelligence Service
admits it had knowledge of the agents' visit to Norway, and Meling confirms he had heard rumours that Krekar was to be kidnapped and transferred to Guantanamo Bay
. If the operation was not approved beforehand by Norway it would have been a violation of Norwegian law. Mullah Krekar was not kidnapped.
According to an article in Newsweek
, a Pentagon official proposed inserting a US Navy SEAL
team to engage in a "snatch rope" operation against Krekar; however, the plan was allegedly rejected because of fears that the Norwegian police would fire at the invading SEALs.
However, a week later the Los Angeles Times
quoted a high ranking intelligence official who claimed that U.S. special forces were in fact inserted in a European country allied with the United States through NATO, in order to carry out a snatch operation under strikingly similar circumstances to the Krekar case. The revelation led to suspicion that the plan was in fact not cancelled, as the Pentagon had stated. According to the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad, which was the original source of the CIA agents' mission in Oslo, the U.S. special forces, most likely Navy SEALs, had been monitoring a "militant leader" over a period of time, and were in place ready to carry out the snatch. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Pentagon kept the allied country's government in the dark about the mission, which apparently failed or was aborted.
"Norwegian Jihad" was also broadcast throughout the Asia Pacific region on ABC-TV's satellite service "Australia Network".
In July, 2009, mullah Krekar was one of the subjects of the NBC
's pilot episode of the show "The Wanted", describing him as "responsible for killing hundreds of westerners".
. The attack was investigated as an assassination attempt. Krekar's son-in-law was mildly injured by one of the bullets . Kurdish groups were cited as possible or likely perpetrators.
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
Sunni Islamist terrorist who came to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as a refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
from northern Iraq in 1991. His wife and four children have Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
citizenship, but not Krekar himself. He speaks Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Krekar was the original leader of the Islamist armed group Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...
, which was set up and commenced operations in Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
while he had refugee status in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Krekar claims, however, not to have had foreknowledge of the various terrorist attacks performed by the group he was leading. Since February 2003 he has an expulsion order against him, which is suspended pending Iraqi government guarantees that he will not face torture or execution. Norway is committed to international treaties which prohibit the expulsion of an individual without such a guarantee.
Authorities in the Kurdistan Regional Government have repeatedly asked for Ahmad ("Krekar") to be extradited from Norway. The death penalty remains on the books in the Kurdistan region. Most death sentences have been changed into life sentences since the Kurdistanian authorities took power in 1992, the exception being that eleven alleged members of Ansar al-Islam were hanged in the regional capital of Arbil
Arbil
Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
in October 2006. He has as of 8 December 2006 been on the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
terror list, and as of 8 November 2007 been judged by the High Court
High Court
The term High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court . In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some...
of Norway as a "danger to national security".
Views
In November 2009 controversy erupted when Krekar in an interview with the Arab television channel al-Hiwar said he wanted to establish a new Islamic CaliphateCaliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
, claiming that for Jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
ists there is no legitimate state, with the exception of the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was founded in 1996 when the Taliban began their rule of Afghanistan and ended with their fall from power in 2001...
. For the Islamic "super-state" he wanted Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, Al-Qaida-top Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
or Hizb-e Islami-founder Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
as leader, and other radical Islamists
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
as leader, citing for instance Gulbuddin Hekmatyar or Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
as the foreign minister. As a result the Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
continued their call for the imprisonment of Krekar, and the Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
stated for the first time they would form a new task force which would examine if people officially labeled as "danger to national security" (as Krekar is) could be imprisoned. Azzam Tamimi
Azzam Tamimi
Azzam Tamimi is a British Palestinian academic and political activist. He is currently the director of Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London and appears regularly on al-Jazeera, Press TV and other Arabic and English language television stations, and frequently publishes opinion pieces...
, a supporter of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, who had done the interview with Krekar, also said that he felt Krekar had been treated badly in Norway.
Proceedings against Krekar
In August 2002, while Krekar was in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, the Norwegian government revoked his refugee status on the grounds that he had traveled back to his homeland and spent long periods there.
Krekar was arrested in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in September 2002, after Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
denied him entry and sent him back to Europe. He was interviewed by FBI agents (at Krekar's request, in an attempt to clear his and his group's name); no extradition request was made. He was deported to Norway in January 2003.
In February 2003 the Norwegian government ordered Krekar to be deported to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, but as of July 2009 the order had not been implemented because of the security environment in Iraq, and the risk that Krekar could face the death penalty there, as Norway will not deport people in these circumstances. Krekar has unsuccessfully challenged the expulsion order in court, with the order being confirmed in September 2005. Norway's government has said that the new government to be elected in Iraq in December 2005 might permit discussion on whether Krekar's expulsion order can be implemented.
On March 21, 2003 his arrest was ordered by Økokrim
Økokrim
The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime is Norway's central unit for fighting economic and environmental crimes. The unit, created in 1989, has its main office in Oslo....
, the Norwegian law enforcement agency
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
for financial crime, to ensure he did not leave the country while accusations that he had financed terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attacks using Norway as a base were investigated. Court proceedings against Krekar were however dropped when it proved impossible to prove his connections with the terrorist attacks staged in Iraq by Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...
during his leadership. His term as leader ended.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government has declared Ansar al-Islam a terrorist group, but Krekar denies that it was during the time he headed it, and says he no longer does. While Krekar has not been found guilty of anything, a number of his opinions have met little sympathy; he was once recorded claiming that Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
is the "jewel in the crown of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
". and that he was proud of what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
"has done and that he has become a martyr".
In September 2005 the Iraqi Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal
Abdel Hussein Shandal
Abdel Hussein Shandal is an Iraqi politician who was the Justice Minister in the Iraqi Transitional Government.For the December 2005 elections he joined with Ahmad Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress in a list which failed to win any seats.-Sources:*...
said that Krekar was wanted in Iraq and should be tried there.
About the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
, he said to the Norwegian media "This is a declaration of war against of our religion, our faith, and our civilization. We Muslims are ready for this."
Krekar told the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
magazine Awene that he wants to return to Iraq to fight openly against the Iraqi government and the coalition, but that he lacked travel documents from the Norwegian government. He confirmed to a Norwegian newspaper that he had been correctly quoted. The Norwegian minister of labour and migration, Bjarne Håkon Hanssen
Bjarne Håkon Hanssen
Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, has been the Norwegian Minister of Health since 20 June 2008 as part of the second cabinet Stoltenberg. On October 8, 2009 Hansen announced that he would step down as a minister when Stoltenberg's new cabinet is put together...
, responded that Krekar could leave at any time and that he would be given "travel documents within the day. He'll also get money for airline tickets, taxi cab, and the whole deal. If he really wants to go, that is." Krekar is still living in Norway.
On December 7, 2006, the United States Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
designated mullah Krekar as one of five individuals providing financial support to terrorist organizations. In a statement he is accused of providing funds for Ansar al-Sunnah, an active Iraqi terror-organization descended from Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...
. The press release states that "This designation freezes any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designees". Mullah Krekar was later that day added to the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
list of individuals belonging to or associated with the Al-Qaeda organization. All member states of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
are obliged to freeze assets and prevent entry or transit through their territories with regard to the individuals included on the list. Anders Romarheim, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies
Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies
The Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies is a defence research institute based in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1980.It is a politically independent institute, subordinate to the Norwegian Defence Education Centre within the Norwegian Armed Forces...
, believes that the placement of mullah Krekar on this list is a United States strategy to put pressure on Norway.
On November 8, 2007, the Supreme Court of Norway ruled that Krekar is a threat to Norway's national security, thus upholding the February 2003 decision by the government to deport him to Iraq. It is still unclear when Krekar will be deported due to Iraq's death penalty laws. Some politicians asked for Krekar to be put in jail until he is deported.
On July 12, 2011, terrorism charges were filed against him for a death threat he uttered against ex-minister Erna Solberg
Erna Solberg
Erna Solberg is a Norwegian politician, and current leader of the Conservative Party of Norway. She was the Municipal and Regional Minister in Kjell Magne Bondevik's second government, 19 October 2001 until 17 October 2005. In 2005, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of St. Olav.-Early...
during a news conference in June 2010.
CIA, Pentagon and Navy SEALs
In 2003, agents for the CIACentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, including Cynthia Dame Logan and Gregory Asherleighs, were sent to Norway.
They arrived directly after the abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr , also known as Abu Omar, is an Egyptian cleric. In 2003 he was living in Milan, Italy, from where he was kidnapped and allegedly later tortured in Egypt. This "Imam rapito affair" prompted a series of investigations in Italy, culminating in the criminal convictions of...
from Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy. The agents are allegedly wanted within the Schengen
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
area of jurisdiction. A few days before their arrival, Mullah Krekar's lawyer, Brynjar Meling
Brynjar Meling
-Personal life:Meling is married and have four children. He usually votes for the Conservative Party, but voted blank in 2003 as a result of the party joining the other parties in demanding to repatriate Mullah Krekar...
, asked for police protection of Krekar. The Norwegian Intelligence Service
Norwegian Intelligence Service
Etterretningstjenesten or the Norwegian Intelligence Service is a Norwegian military intelligence agency under the Chief of Defence and the Ministry of Defence....
admits it had knowledge of the agents' visit to Norway, and Meling confirms he had heard rumours that Krekar was to be kidnapped and transferred to Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
. If the operation was not approved beforehand by Norway it would have been a violation of Norwegian law. Mullah Krekar was not kidnapped.
According to an article in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, a Pentagon official proposed inserting a US Navy SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
team to engage in a "snatch rope" operation against Krekar; however, the plan was allegedly rejected because of fears that the Norwegian police would fire at the invading SEALs.
However, a week later the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
quoted a high ranking intelligence official who claimed that U.S. special forces were in fact inserted in a European country allied with the United States through NATO, in order to carry out a snatch operation under strikingly similar circumstances to the Krekar case. The revelation led to suspicion that the plan was in fact not cancelled, as the Pentagon had stated. According to the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad, which was the original source of the CIA agents' mission in Oslo, the U.S. special forces, most likely Navy SEALs, had been monitoring a "militant leader" over a period of time, and were in place ready to carry out the snatch. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Pentagon kept the allied country's government in the dark about the mission, which apparently failed or was aborted.
Offered cash for leaving Norway
In April 2006 businessman Tasawer "Tommy" Sharif offered Krekar NOK 500,000 (approx. US$90,000) if he left Norway, saying that Krekar was "a pest for all Muslims in Norway." Krekar rejected the offer.Facebook group collecting donations for the assassination of Mullah Krekar
In November 2007, Norwegian newspapers published the story that a Facebook group had been set up, dedicated to collecting money which would eventually go to an assassin, should one be located. The group statement started with "For the murder of Norway's enemy #1". The 28-year old man who started the group went on to publicize not only his full name, but also a bank account number where money could be deposited. The group had approximately 400 members when Krekar's lawyer deemed the threat "serious" and said he "hoped the police would investigate the people involved". The 28-year old told Norwegian media that the statement was facetious and thus should not be taken literally.Popular Culture References
In November 2007, mullah Krekar was the subject of a half hour investigative report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent". The report titled "Norwegian Jihad" was also the centrepiece of a one hour special report on Norwegian State Television."Norwegian Jihad" was also broadcast throughout the Asia Pacific region on ABC-TV's satellite service "Australia Network".
In July, 2009, mullah Krekar was one of the subjects of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's pilot episode of the show "The Wanted", describing him as "responsible for killing hundreds of westerners".
Assassination attempt
During the night of 24 January 2010, 3 shots were fired through one of the windows of Krekar's apartment in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. The attack was investigated as an assassination attempt. Krekar's son-in-law was mildly injured by one of the bullets . Kurdish groups were cited as possible or likely perpetrators.
External links
- "Al-Qaeds Resembles the Zionist Movement before the Establishment of the State of Israel" LBC TVLebanese Broadcasting CorporationThe Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation , widely known as LBC, is the first private television station in Lebanon. It went global in 1996 when it launched its satellite channel LBC Al-Fadha'iya Al-Lubnaniya covering the Arab World. It now has several channels covering Europe, America, Australia, and...
on July 8, 2007 - "The CIA and The Militant Who Eluded It in Norway" – By Craig Whitlock (journalist), The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, December 4, 2006. - mullah Krekar Interview (WMVWindows Media Video'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
) – By Jonathan Miller (reporter), Ivan O'Mahoney (producer), Insight News Television - "Krekar contradicts his own defense" – By Inger Anne Olsen, AftenpostenAftenpostenAftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
, 9 January 2004 - mullah Krekar: Leader of Kurdish Ansar al-Islam – By Trevor Stanley, in Perspectives on World History and Current Events (PWHCE), 2005
- "Krekar can be expelled soon" – Aftenposten/NTB, 16 March 2006
- "Krekar threatens Norway" – Aftenposten, 06 Sep 2005
- "mullah Krekar linked to pro al-Qaida sites" – Aftenposten, 09 Oct 2007