We have been following the saga of a Moroccan-born imam, Hassan Iquioussen, who was under a deportation order from France, but who fled to Belgium to avoid arrest. Subsequently nabbed in Belgium, he then fought extradition to Morocco. Morocco, who had initially declined to issue an entry pass for the imam, thus preventing his removal, later changed course and issued the pass. Iquioussen has now reportedly been removed to Morocco by the Belgians.
The below article from yesterday's BFMTV (France) is translated by Fousesquawk.
Imam Hassan Iquioussen has been expelled to Morocco by Belgium
SR with AFP January 13, 2023 at 20:29
Caption: Imam Hassan Iquioussen leaves after a hearing in the appellate court of Le Mons, 10 November 2022
At the end of last July, the Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, announced his expulsion from French territory. But the imam could not be found at the time the expulsion arrest was ordered and had fled to Belgium.
Imam Hassan Iquioussen was expelled Friday to Morocco by Belgium, where he had been arrested September 30 after his expulsion (order) from France for "remarks inciting hate and discrimination," his French lawyer has announced.
This preacher from the north of France, for whom Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had announced an expulsion order at the end of July, was expelled to Casablanca after the issuance of an entry permit by Moroccan authorities, stated Attorney Lucie Simon.
The expulsion order forbids return, the Interior Ministry tells BFMTV. Hassan Iquioussen is listed in the file of wanted persons and therefore, in the Schengen information system, which permits the reporting and prevents his entry into European (EU) territory.
A "great victory against separatism"
The announcement was also made by the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration on her Twitter account Friday, hailing the removal of the "Iquioussen hate," and "the good cooperation" with France in this case.
"We cannot permit an extremist to wander around our territory. Everyone who hasn't the right to be here must be removed," she commented in a press release.
For his part, Gerald Darmanin welcomed a "great victory against separatism," BFMTV learned from his entourage.
Expulsion from France in July
At the end of July, Gerald Darmanin announced the expulsion of Hassan Iquioussen, accusing him of (making) "a proselytizing speech mixed with remarks inciting hate and discrimination and carrying a vision of Islam contrary to the values of the French Republic".
But the imam could not be located at the time the arrest warrant for deportation had been definitively validated by the Counsel of State on August 31. He had fled to French-speaking Belgium where he was arrested in the area of Mons on September 30.
Hassan Iquioussen was then placed in a lockdown center near Liege in mid-November (on charges of) illegal residence (and) targeted with an order to leave Belgian territory after the failure of a European arrest procedure initiated by France.
"About-face"
His French attorney, Lucie Simon, was shocked Friday evening by the "about-face" of Morocco, who had refused France's request last summer (to issue) a consular entry pass allowing the removal of the imam to his country of origin.
"I am surprised by the about-face by the Moroccan authorities, and I believe that the place for Hassan Iquioussen is in France," Attorney Lucie Simon reacted, stressing that the lawyers were not informed of the issuance of the consular document.
"We await the basis of the judgment of the Paris Administrative Tribunal, (and) if the (French) expulsion order had been annulled, France would have to ensure his return, " she added.
S.R. with Agence France Presse
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