Hassan Iquioussen was arrested in Belgium on Friday under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by Paris.

The Moroccan imam is now counting on Belgian justice to resist "pressure" from France, which is demanding his surrender in order to be able to expel him, his lawyer told AFP on Monday.

“Hassan Iquioussen trusts Belgian justice not to give in to pressure from a French executive eager for a media trophy to serve a disastrous legislative agenda”, writes his adviser, Me Lucie Simon, in a press release.

Implicated for remarks deemed "contrary to the values ​​of the Republic", this imam from the North is subject to an expulsion order signed by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.

Arrest Warrant Challenge

He could not be found in France when this decree, which he had challenged in court, had been definitively validated by the Council of State on August 31.

The French authorities had then issued an EAW against him for “evading a removal measure”.

His lawyer disputes the validity of this EAW, the offense justifying it not being, according to her, characterized, his client having himself left French territory.

In addition, her departure, according to her, took place before the Council of State validated the expulsion order, at a time when this decision "was suspended" and when no expulsion measure could therefore " be opposed to it”.

“A context of spectacle politics”

“Ultimately, Hassan Iquioussen purely and simply respected French law by leaving France for Wallonia”, she writes, regretting “a worrying disdain from the executive” for “legal standards”.

Belgian justice should rule in the coming days on the execution of the EAW, by examining in particular whether the offense prosecuted in France has an equivalent in Belgium.

The question "of respect for the fundamental rights of the imam in the event of a return to France" will also arise, warns Me Simon, "in a context of political spectacle unworthy of our rule of law".

The procedure for handing over to France could take several weeks.

“Hate speech”

Gérald Darmanin had announced at the end of July the expulsion of this preacher, filed S (for state security) by the DGSI (General Directorate of Internal Security), for eighteen months, according to him.

The decree reproached him for "a proselytizing speech interspersed with remarks inciting hatred and discrimination and carrying a vision of Islam contrary to the values ​​of the Republic".

The man born in France and of Moroccan nationality, was detained on Friday evening in Tournai after an investigating judge seized by the Mons prosecution served him with the arrest warrant.

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Hassan Iquioussen case: The imam was arrested in Belgium

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Imam Hassan Iquioussen targeted by a European arrest warrant

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  • Hassan Iquioussen

  • Gerald Darmanin

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  • Expulsion