ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Italian trial of Norway-based Kurdish cleric Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, known as Mullah Krekar, which was supposed to commence on Monday, has been postponed, his lawyer has stated.
The terror-related case against Krekar and five other people was due to proceed on Monday but was delayed because he has not been formally notified of the proceeding, his Italian lawyer, Enrica Franzini, wrote to ABC Nyheter, a Norwegian online newspaper.
Krekar's Norwegian lawyer, Brynjar Meling, had said earlier that neither he nor his client had been contacted by the Italian authorities. They only knew of the case through the media.
Under Italian law, hearings can take place even if the persons are not present in the court. Since the Norwegian and Italian criminal proceedings are different, the Norwegian authorities have asked the Italian authorities to send a notice to Krekar, reported the Norwegian newspaper.
Franzini said she expects the Italian judges will accept the request, postponing the trial for a third time, adding that she anticipates more postponements in the future.
According to the Norwegian TV2, five other members of Krekar’s alleged terror network have also been charged, among them Krekar's son-in-law, Zana Rahim, 34, a resident of England.
In 2015, European authorities arrested fifteen Iraqi-Kurdish nationals, among them their leader Mullah Krekar, on terrorism-related charges, said Franco Roberti, Italy's anti-mafia and anti-terror prosecutor, Reuters reported at the time.
Krekar is recognized as the leader of the terrorist network called Rawti Shax or Didi New and is accused of planning terrorist activities in Europe.
Rawti Shax recruited foreign terrorist fighters to be sent to Iraq and Syria and provided logistical and financial support, Italian prosecutors allege.
Norway has considered Krekar a threat to the national security. The government has tried to return him to Iraq but his extradition has been obstructed on the grounds he could face the death penalty there.
Norway has also wanted to extradite him to Italy.
"If he is convicted in Italy, he shall be in Italy. I will take care of that," Norwegian Minister of Justice Per-Willy Amundsen told Nettavisen, a Norwegian newspaper.
Krekar had earlier faced an extradition request from Italy, approved by Norway courts, before it was withdrawn.
"Italy will not send a new request for extradition of Krekar," Franzini wrote.
She also said the Norwegian lawyer Meling wants to remove her from the case, but the only way she can be removed is to be replaced.
"Until then, I'm Krekar's only lawyer in the Italian case and I cannot even deny myself the job. Until today, I have done a proper job and done what I can, compared to my client's cooperation," she said.
Krekar, a flamboyant Kurdish Islamist in exile, is also wanted in the Kurdistan Region for terrorism charges dating back to late 1990s and early 2000s when he founded the Kurdish jihadist group Ansar al-Islam and declared a caliphate-like entity in the southern Kurdish towns of Biara and Tawela in the run up for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
The US army demolished Ansar al-Islam strongholds in Biara and Tawela with airstrikes and Tomahawk cruise missiles during the 2003 war and dismantled the group's network.
Kurdish authorities say Ansar al-Islam was responsible for killing and torturing local residents who opposed the caliphate and want to prosecute its leader, Krekar.
In Norway, Krekar is producing videos weekly, if not daily, commenting on the day-to-day affairs of the Islamic world, in particular the Kurdistan Region.
The videos are published under the name of the online Azadi University for Islamic Studies. Azadi means freedom in Kurdish.
In December, he said that his personal Facebook page was closed by administrators, but claimed he had not violated the rules of the social media giant. He said talking to the people through social media is important because he wants to keep in touch with the “new generation.”
As well doing political commentary, he also issues religious rulings, fatwas, to the people.
In December, he repeated a slogan of Rawti Shax: "Kurdistan is Dar al-Kufr [House of Unbelievers], defending it means the defence of Kufr."
Rawti Shax believes that the current rulers of Kurdistan are secular who oppose the practice of Islam and the religion must be reintroduced to the Kurdish nation.
Regarding the Peshmerga who most recently fought against the extremist group ISIS, he said in a fatwa that they payment they receive is haram, forbidden by Islam. Peshmerga service to the country, even under the name of protecting the land, is not justified when the government is not Islamic, he argued.
"Land is precious when the flag of Islam is flying high," Krekar said in a video message in early January published by a page linked to the radical cleric.
Krekar was an early user of social media, spreading his message through online video chat forum Paltalk in the early 2000’s.
The terror-related case against Krekar and five other people was due to proceed on Monday but was delayed because he has not been formally notified of the proceeding, his Italian lawyer, Enrica Franzini, wrote to ABC Nyheter, a Norwegian online newspaper.
Krekar's Norwegian lawyer, Brynjar Meling, had said earlier that neither he nor his client had been contacted by the Italian authorities. They only knew of the case through the media.
Under Italian law, hearings can take place even if the persons are not present in the court. Since the Norwegian and Italian criminal proceedings are different, the Norwegian authorities have asked the Italian authorities to send a notice to Krekar, reported the Norwegian newspaper.
Franzini said she expects the Italian judges will accept the request, postponing the trial for a third time, adding that she anticipates more postponements in the future.
According to the Norwegian TV2, five other members of Krekar’s alleged terror network have also been charged, among them Krekar's son-in-law, Zana Rahim, 34, a resident of England.
In 2015, European authorities arrested fifteen Iraqi-Kurdish nationals, among them their leader Mullah Krekar, on terrorism-related charges, said Franco Roberti, Italy's anti-mafia and anti-terror prosecutor, Reuters reported at the time.
Krekar is recognized as the leader of the terrorist network called Rawti Shax or Didi New and is accused of planning terrorist activities in Europe.
Rawti Shax recruited foreign terrorist fighters to be sent to Iraq and Syria and provided logistical and financial support, Italian prosecutors allege.
Norway has considered Krekar a threat to the national security. The government has tried to return him to Iraq but his extradition has been obstructed on the grounds he could face the death penalty there.
Norway has also wanted to extradite him to Italy.
"If he is convicted in Italy, he shall be in Italy. I will take care of that," Norwegian Minister of Justice Per-Willy Amundsen told Nettavisen, a Norwegian newspaper.
Krekar had earlier faced an extradition request from Italy, approved by Norway courts, before it was withdrawn.
"Italy will not send a new request for extradition of Krekar," Franzini wrote.
She also said the Norwegian lawyer Meling wants to remove her from the case, but the only way she can be removed is to be replaced.
"Until then, I'm Krekar's only lawyer in the Italian case and I cannot even deny myself the job. Until today, I have done a proper job and done what I can, compared to my client's cooperation," she said.
Krekar, a flamboyant Kurdish Islamist in exile, is also wanted in the Kurdistan Region for terrorism charges dating back to late 1990s and early 2000s when he founded the Kurdish jihadist group Ansar al-Islam and declared a caliphate-like entity in the southern Kurdish towns of Biara and Tawela in the run up for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
The US army demolished Ansar al-Islam strongholds in Biara and Tawela with airstrikes and Tomahawk cruise missiles during the 2003 war and dismantled the group's network.
Kurdish authorities say Ansar al-Islam was responsible for killing and torturing local residents who opposed the caliphate and want to prosecute its leader, Krekar.
In Norway, Krekar is producing videos weekly, if not daily, commenting on the day-to-day affairs of the Islamic world, in particular the Kurdistan Region.
The videos are published under the name of the online Azadi University for Islamic Studies. Azadi means freedom in Kurdish.
In December, he said that his personal Facebook page was closed by administrators, but claimed he had not violated the rules of the social media giant. He said talking to the people through social media is important because he wants to keep in touch with the “new generation.”
As well doing political commentary, he also issues religious rulings, fatwas, to the people.
In December, he repeated a slogan of Rawti Shax: "Kurdistan is Dar al-Kufr [House of Unbelievers], defending it means the defence of Kufr."
Rawti Shax believes that the current rulers of Kurdistan are secular who oppose the practice of Islam and the religion must be reintroduced to the Kurdish nation.
Regarding the Peshmerga who most recently fought against the extremist group ISIS, he said in a fatwa that they payment they receive is haram, forbidden by Islam. Peshmerga service to the country, even under the name of protecting the land, is not justified when the government is not Islamic, he argued.
"Land is precious when the flag of Islam is flying high," Krekar said in a video message in early January published by a page linked to the radical cleric.
Krekar was an early user of social media, spreading his message through online video chat forum Paltalk in the early 2000’s.
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