In December 2007, Halabjaee was convicted in absentia in Iraqi Kurdistan for the crime of blasphemy.[15] A court in Halabja sentenced Halabjaee to prison for writing that the prophet Mohammed had 19 wives, married a 9-year-old when he was 54 years old, and committed murder and rape.[16] Halabjaee remains in Norway. The sentence states that he will be arrested upon his return to Iraqi Kurdistan.[17]