Loai Mohammed Deeb (born 19 July 1975) is a Palestinian who is the leader of

Global Network for Rights and Development Global Network for Rights and Development (commonly known as GNRD) is a Norwegian non-governmental human rights organization established in June 2008. It was declared bankrupt in 2016. While operational, the organization focused on advancing the ...

(GNRD) and a former member of the municipal council of

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

, Norway. In June 2015 Norwegian police charged both Loai Deeb and GNRD with money laundering and receiving stolen goods.

Career

In 2007 he was elected to the local council for Sola district in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

as a member of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectru ...

for a period of 4 years. From 2007 to 2011 he was director of a

diploma mill A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that sells illegitimate diplomas or academic degrees, respectively. The term ''diploma mill'' is also used pejoratively to describe any educational institution with low standards for admission and gradua ...

, ''The Scandinavian University'', located in Stavanger with no employees in Norway and without recognition from the

Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, NOKUT is a Norwegian government agency, established in 2003 as part of the Quality Reform. Its areas of responsibility include quality assessment of Norwegian universities, university coll ...

. Deeb established the

(GNRD), in 2008. Loaideeb

In 2013 he earned 4.7 million Norwegian kroner, after years where his yearly income had rarely exceeded 200 000 Norwegian kroner when he had worked as a security guard and as a messenger in Norway. ( In 2014

Brian Whitaker Brian Whitaker (sometimes credited as Brian Whittaker; born 13 June 1947) is a British journalist and writer. Whitaker earned a degree in Arabic studies at the University of Westminster and Latin (BA Hons) at the University of Birmingham. He ...

said that the organization led by Deeb, GNRD, is "funded – to the tune of 3.5 million euros a year".An odd organisation
. ''al-bab.com'') In 2014 he produced the video for the song "The Great East", performed by

Carole Samaha Carole Samaha (; born July 25, 1972) is a Lebanese-Egyptian singer, actress, and performer. She has released six studio albums. Samaha has a Master's degree in acting and directing, which she earned in 1999 from the Saint Joseph University of B ...

, the GNRD Goodwill Ambassador.

Criminal charges

On May 27, 2015, Norwegian police raided the headquarters of GNRD in Stavanger and brought Loai Deeb in for questioning. Following the raid Deeb was charged with

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

and

receiving stolen goods Possession of stolen goods is a crime in which an individual has bought, been given, or acquired stolen goods. In many jurisdictions, if an individual has accepted possession of goods (or property) and knew they were stolen, then the individua ...

. The investigation is carried out by the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (

Økokrim The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime () is Norway's central unit for fighting economic and environmental crimes. The unit, created in 1989, has its main office in Oslo. Økokrim is both a ...

). Through his lawyer Deeb denied the accusations. In October 2018, Deeb was sentenced to years in jail by the

Stavanger District Court Stavanger District Court () was a district court in Rogaland county, Norway. The court was based in the city of Stavanger. The court existed until 2021. It had jurisdiction over the central part of the county which included the municipalities of ...

. Deeb stated he would appeal the sentence. In December 2019, Deeb was sentenced to years in jail by the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

Education

Deeb's claim to have completed a PhD in international law is disputed. He has claimed that he completed his degree at universities in four different countries on separate occasions, and no major university in any of the four countries have any record of his matriculation. Deeb has no ties to

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, which contrasts Deeb's claim that he is a professor there.

GNRD's observing of elections

During his period of leadership, the organization has observed elections: *

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

's independence referendum - 14,15 January 2011. *

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian parliamentary election - 23 January 2013. Loaideeb2

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n presidential elections - 17 May 2014. *

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian presidential election - 26, 28 May 2014. *Presidential and parliamentary elections,

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

- October, November, December 2014.

Media scrutiny of claims of Deeb's memberships in organisations

On 17 June 2015

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

said that the Wikipedia article about Deeb "claims that he is a member of six organisations including ''European Academy of rights'' and ''Federation of the International Criminal Court''. Three of the six organisations" have no traces on the internet.

Family

Deeb is married and has 5 children: one son and four daughters. Deeb also has seven brothers. His father and mother hold Norwegian citizenship, as well as three of his brothers. Another brother holds Spanish citizenship. Two of his brothers live in the UAE and one in Egypt.

References

External links

GNRD Website

Loai Deeb on Facebook
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deeb, Loai Living people 1975 births Local politicians in Norway Prisoners and detainees of Norway