Norway’s justice minister said Saturday that an Iraqi-born cleric suspected of enticing recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria will be extradited if a court in Italy convicts him.
The Muslim cleric, Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad, is scheduled to go on trial in Italy Wednesday without him being physically present in court, Norwegian daily newspaper Nettavisen reported. Ahmad is known as Mullah Krekar in Norway, where he has lived since 1991.
Italian prosecutors allege that Krekar is behind Rawti Shax, a European network aimed at violently overthrowing the government in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and replacing it with a radical caliphate. Rawti Shax ultimately was to join the Islamic State group, Nettavisen said.