Finland to weight legal measures against man convicted in Iraq

Minister of Justice Leena Meri and Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen reviewed the powers of different authorities and their possibilities to take action against a man, who was convicted in Iraq and has been living in Finland, said the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of the Interior in a joint press release on Wednesday.

The ministers discussed the case of a man, who was sentenced to death. The issue has been covered by news media recently.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will conduct discussions on the matter with the Iraqi and Norwegian authorities.

The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice are launching legislative projects aimed at preventing similar situations in the future and at streamlining the processing of such cases.

The Ministry of the Interior is carrying out reforms to improve the verification of identity in residence permit and asylum matters.

Other means to prevent abuse of the procedure will also be examined. These include detention, imposition of an entry ban and withdrawal of a residence permit.

The Ministry of Justice is implementing a reform of extradition legislation. The Ministry will also start updating the national legislation on the transfer of enforcement of sentences as soon as possible.

According to media report, the Iraqi man, Faraidun Latif Sharif was sentenced to death in Iraq for killing his Norwegian wife in Kurdistan in 2004.

He along with ten other prisoners later managed to escape from the prison in Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2012 and arrived in Finland in 2014.

He sought asylum in Finland using different name and identity and has been living in the country.