"Nice doggie, good boy...."
Posted on 06/15/2004 1:28:58 PM PDT by knighthawk
OSLO, Norway - A Norwegian prosecutor dropped all charges against the founder of Ansar al-Islam, a suspected terror group, citing a lack of evidence and fears that witness testimony in Iraq was coerced.
Mullah Krekar, 47, a refugee in Norway since 1991, had been in and out of custody on numerous charges, including financing terror and allegations that he plotted to kill political rivals in northern Iraq between 2000 and 2001.
Prosecutor Tor-Aksel Bush said Tuesday that he was dropping the case after more than two years of investigation.
"The prosecutor has not found grounds to charge Krekar for any crime," Bush told reporters.
Krekar, born Najm al-Din Faraj Ahmad, founded Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish Islamic group in northern Iraq that has been linked to al-Qaida. It is listed as a terror organization by the United States and the United Nations and is suspected of suicide bombings against coalition forces in Iraq.
A key point in his decision, Bush said, was testimony from a 20-year-old would-be suicide bomber from Ansar al-Islam who told Norwegian police he had been pressured into making false statements while a prisoner of a rival Kurdish group, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK.
Krekar called the decision a victory.
"I had expected the case to be closed," he told reporters. "This has been a long case against me. The prosecutor's decision is a scandal for those who are against us, namely our enemies."
Krekar denies any association with the terror network and says he no longer even has any contact with Ansar al-Islam.
The group had 600 fighters before its main base in northern Iraq was bombed by U.S. forces and overrun by rival Kurdish militias during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The prosecutor also said Norwegian police chose not to investigate further because they could not protect witnesses in Iraq from threats and reprisals.
The 20-year-old witness, whose name was withheld, was caught with explosives in June 2002 while on an apparent suicide mission against a PUK base.
He was questioned in October 2003 by a Norwegian team in northern Iraq while in PUK custody, and implicated Krekar in attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, Bush said.
However, he changed his story when Norwegian police interrogated him again in February 2004, after he was turned over to the U.S.-led occupation force and held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
The witness then said he had been tortured and forced by the rival group into testifying against Krekar. The witness also said his family had been threatened by both the PUK and Ansar al-Islam, Bush said.
Other witnesses also complained of pressure and threats, Bush said.
Krekar was arrested at an airport outside Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Sept. 12, 2002, after Iran denied him entry and sent him back to Europe. He was deported to Norway in January 2003 and interrogated by intelligence services in both countries.
Norwegian immigration authorities are seeking to deport Krekar, saying he violated the terms of his refugee status by repeatedly returning to Iraq, the country he fled when seeking asylum.
Ping
Maybe I'll be the first to say it: Bush is at fault here.
Interesting that Krekar today was sentenced to jail in Jordan along with Zarqawi.
Interesting indeed.
Kidding aside, this Krekar story is really significant. There is also the Fox report being mentioned by freepers today that puts Zarqawi in Fallujah. I know that was talked of in past months, but many had assumed that he had left Fallujah (if he had ever been there in the first place).
Then there is the report of the web site posting that is reportedly a sob story from Z to OBL. My cursory glance of those reports makes me think that if it is indeed genuine, then it likely dates from earlier this year. I think Dog had it right a couple of days ago when he questioned the reason for posting even an old message. What is the gain in it, and for whom?
I will guess that there are big moves going on under the surface regarding Z. I think we're close.
I suspect what happened with that posting to that web site of the old message is ......we(CIA) spoofed AQ....hacked the site and watch who surfaces to refute the posting.
That in itself may be a good indication of undercurrents.
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