Iraqi cleric faces Oslo court over death threat charges

An IRAQ-born cleric yesterday pleaded not guilty in Oslo to charges of making death threats against politicians and encouraging suicide bombings.

Mullah Krekar, 55, who arrived in Norway as a refugee in 1991, faces several years in jail if found guilty by Oslo District Court.

Krekar has made frequent trips back to Iraq, where in 2001 he founded the Kurdish Ansar al-Islam group, suspected of organising suicide bombings against coalition forces in Iraq.

In 2005, a Norwegian court declared him a national security threat and ordered he be deported; this was postponed because of concerns he could face execution or torture in Iraq.