Mullah Krekar is a “Norwegian” holy man, kind of the pope of the tundra. Except a pope normally gets to wear better threads. He is a Kurd, and his original name was Najmeddine Faraj Ahmad. He moved from Iraq to Norway in 1991, and has been enriching the culture of Norway ever since. He even did a brief stint in a Norwegian prison. The Norwegian government has never been able to deport him, presumably because to do so would violate his human rights.

Last July the beloved Mullah of the Fjords was convicted in absentia in an Italian court for terrorism offenses. The Norwegian government agreed to extradite him, and now, at last, after all these years Mr. Krekar will be leaving the fjords and taking up his new residence at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe.

Many thanks to FouseSquawk for translating this article from the Swedish daily Nyheter Idag:

Coronavirus can’t save the Islamist Krekar — Will be deported from Norway to Italy

Norway— The notorious Iraqi Islamist and suspected terrorist leader Mullah Krekar will be deported to Italy and brought before the court. That has been decided by the Norwegian government. In a final attempt to avoid Italian justice, Krekar wanted through his lawyer to stop deportation on the grounds of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. The attempt failed.

Mullah Krekar was arrested in 2015 in Norway at the request of Italian police, as part of a coordinated effort against an Islamist terrorist network with connections to ISIS. Since then, in legal rounds, Italy has wanted to have Krekar extradited to bring him to trial.

Mullah Krekar had a deportation decision hanging over him, but appealed it. On Friday the final decision was handed down after years of appeals and lawsuits.

This is a final decision. A final extradition decision should, in principle, be carried out as soon as possible. This is the usual way Norwegian and Italian police ensure that extradition decisions are carried out, says Justice Minister Monica Maeland at a press conference.

Maeland noted that Norway will wait till the coronavirus situation in Italy is under control before the deportation of the Islamist Krekar is carried out.

Mullah Krekar’s defense attorney, Brynjar Meling, was disappointed. He had earlier argued that Krekar belongs to a group that would be especially hard hit by the coronavirus.

“This is a shameful day in Norway. A shameful day for the Norwegian security police, courts, Justice Department, and the government, and a confirmation there is no guarantee of justice in Norway,” Meling told NRK.

Earlier Meling had said that they will also appeal this decision to the European Court at Strasbourg.

For the previous exploits of the renowned interfaith leader, see the Mullah Krekar archives.