According to information from the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Finland will try to overturn the death sentence issued against Fereydoun Latif Sharif.
He was sentenced to death for ordering the murder of his Norwegian wife, Marita Ström, in northern Iraq in 2004 at a trial in the same country, but escaped from prison in 2012. He denied to VG that he had anything to do with the murder.
Last September, Finland's VG, Namdalsavisa and Helsingin Sanomat were able to reveal that convicted murderer Fereydoun Latif Sharif is living freely in Finland.
Read also: Finnish authorities to change law after VG revelation
Write now Helsingin Sanomat The Finnish Ministry of Justice has sent a request to Iraqi Kurdistan to change the death sentence against Latif Sharif to a prison sentence.
The head of the department at the Ministry of Justice, Antti Leinonen, confirmed to the newspaper that the ministry had contacted the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan on this matter, but had not received a response.
– We have submitted an application. If we do not get an official answer by the autumn, we will start thinking about other ways, says Leinonen to Helsingin Sanomat.
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It is not legal for Finland to extradite people sentenced to death if there is a risk of execution. This is also the case in Norway.
The newspaper writes And that there would be no automaticity in any possible extradition, even if the death sentence was converted to a prison sentence.
According to them, the extradition case could end up before the Finnish Supreme Court if Latif Sharif opposes the extradition. The court would then have to assess, among other things, whether prison conditions in Iraq are inhumane.
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