Norway expels Sudanese diplomat

The Norwegian foreign ministry asked a Sudanese diplomat on Tuesday October 9 to leave the country immediately, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) reported. The Norwegian police security agency (PST) said a Sudanese diplomat, whose identity was not revealed, received information about Sudanese refugees from a 38-year-old Sudanese male residing in Norway. The 38-year-old Sudanese male was arrested earlier on Wednesday from his home in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, on accusation of spying on Sudanese refugees. The Sudanese charge d’affaires in Norway was summoned by the Norwegian foreign ministry and requested to send the accused Sudanese diplomat home, NRK reported. ‘He was told we consider such activities incompatible with a diplomat’s duties and therefore it was requested that the accused diplomat is sent home’, Kjetil Elsebutangen, spokesman of the Norwegian foreign ministry stated. The spokesman added they do not consider the Sudanese diplomat ‘persona non grata’, however he will be expected to leave the country, NRK reported. The Sudanese ambassador to Norway, Anwar Ahmed, denied all charges. Sudan’s response: expulsion of Norwegian diplomat Meanwhile, the Sudanese foreign ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Sudan on Wednesday afternoon. The Norwegian ambassador was informed that the Government of Sudan requests Norway to withdraw one of its diplomats from the embassy in Khartoum. The move is considered a response to Norway’s expulsion of the Sudanese diplomat on Tuesday.