OSLO - The new Iraqi administration will not condemn radical Islamic leader Mullah Krekar to death, Iraq's justice minister said Thursday, after Norwegian authorities ordered the expulsion of the Iraqi Kurd.
Iraqi authorities could not however guarantee Krekar's security, Malek Dohane al-Hassan was quoted as saying by Nettavisen, a Norwegian web-based newspaper.
U.S. authorities say Krekar is the founder of Ansar al-Islam, a group allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda that has conducted terrorist attacks in Iraq. They also suspect him of involvement in the August 2003 suicide bombing of the UN mission in Baghdad, and of links with a suspect in the Madrid March 11 bombings last year.
"We are building a democratic state in Iraq and we are not going to punish a man because he sympathizes with militant groups or because he has resisted the occupation," al-Hassan said.
"The Iraqi government holds nothing against Krekar, but of course we cannot guarantee his security if he has enemies in Iraq," he added.
On Monday, Norwegian authorities confirmed the order to expel Krekar, whose real name is believed to be Fateh Najmeddin Faraj.
Krekar has lived in Norway as a refugee since 1991, but authorities revoked his status last year because he had returned to Iraq several times.
Although prosecutors have had to drop charges of murder and terrorist financing brought against him due to lack of evidence, authorities said they believed he represented a threat to Norway's national security.
In Monday's order of expulsion, they underlined that "several sources have linked the suspect to Al-Qaeda".
Krekar has repeatedly pleaded innocent to all accusations and his lawyer said he would continue to appeal against his expulsion.
03/10/2005 18:17 GMT