A fundamentalist Iraqi cleric has been extradited to Italy from Norway, despite concerns about the coronavirus. Mullah Krekar, real name Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad, is considered a terrorist by the UN and the US.

In July 2019 he was convicted by an Italian court of leading a jihadist group. His lawyers challenged his extradition, citing the coronavirus pandemic. Italy is the country worst affected by the outbreak. It has reported more than 7,500 deaths. Norway has recorded 3,250 confirmed cases and 14 deaths. The 63-year-old Iraqi Kurdish preacher came to Norway as a refugee in 1991.

He was the founder of the defunct Islamic group Ansar al-Islam, although has since distanced himself from the group. Norway has been trying to extradite him for years, judging him to be a threat to national security since 2007. But under Norwegian law it would be illegal to extradite him to Iraq – despite repeated requests by Kurdish authorities – because he could face the death penalty.(BBC)…[+]