• The Council of State gave the green light on Tuesday to the expulsion of Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen, whom Gérald Darmanin had made in recent weeks a symbol of the government's fight against "separatist speeches".

  • After the decision of the Council of State, the police went in the afternoon to the home of the preacher near Valenciennes (North) in order to arrest him to deport him to Morocco.

    But, they didn't find it.

  • The imam is now considered to be on the run and has been added to the wanted persons file (RPF).

    20 Minutes

    takes stock of this case while, according to a source familiar with the matter, the possibility that the imam is in Belgium has been raised.

On Tuesday afternoon, the police went to the home of Imam Hassan Iquioussen.

This preacher, close to the Muslim Brotherhood, is subject to an expulsion notice from Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin which was validated by the Council of State yesterday.

However, when the police arrived at his home in Lourches, in the North, the man of Moroccan nationality was nowhere to be found.

But who is Hassan Iquioussen?

Why was his expulsion decided?

What consequences could the case know?

20 Minutes

takes stock for you.

Who is Hassan Iquioussen?

Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen, whom Gérald Darmanin criticizes for a vision of Islam "contrary to the values ​​of the Republic", is close to the Muslim Brotherhood, well established in the North and with an ambiguous discourse.

The preacher has been repeatedly accused of anti-Semitism.

After a first controversy in 2004, he apologized and added: "anti-Semitism is a horror" but other excesses will follow.

He is also accused of having described Osama bin Laden as a “great fighter against the Americans” but it is difficult to find traces of his most controversial remarks.

"He's a smart guy.

He was very careful” in the comments he makes “on his platforms” online, believes Bernard Godard, a former official at the Ministry of the Interior and specialist in Islam.

The preacher's YouTube channel, on which he delivers lessons and sermons on Islam in daily life (poverty, violence, fulfillment in the couple, etc.), has 178,000 subscribers.

Born in France, he had decided when he came of age not to opt for French nationality.

But his five children and his 15 grandchildren are French and perfectly established in the region: one son is an imam in Raismes, another ex-elected PS in Lourches.

According to the Minister of the Interior, Hassan Iquioussen has been on file with the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) "for eighteen months".

Why is he about to be expelled?

Gérald Darmanin announced his desire to expel Hassan Iquioussen on July 28.

The French authorities accuse him of having made anti-Semitic, homophobic and sexist remarks during sermons or conferences, some of which were held almost twenty years ago.

On August 5, the Paris administrative court had suspended the expulsion to Morocco of this imam reputed to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood, judging that it would cause a "disproportionate attack" on his "private and family life", but the ministry of the Interior appealed against this decision.

On Tuesday, the Council of State gave the green light to the expulsion.

The interim judge of the Council of State considers that "his anti-Semitic remarks, made for several years at numerous widely publicized conferences, as well as his speech on the inferiority of women and their submission to men constitute acts of provocation explicit and deliberate discrimination or hatred justifying the expulsion decision.

He also considers that this decision does not cause a serious and manifestly illegal attack on the private and family life of Mr. Iquioussen, ”explains the highest French administrative court in its press release.

What are the possible consequences of the case?

After the decision of the Council of State, the police went to the home of the preacher, in Lourches near Valenciennes (North) to arrest him to deport him to Morocco.

But the man was not there, according to a source familiar with the matter who raised the possibility that he was in Belgium.

Because of his flight, Hassan Iquioussen was registered in the File of wanted persons (RPF).

He faces three years in prison for evading arrest.

The imam should, however, continue the legal proceedings and appeals.

“The legal battle continues, the administrative court of Paris will have to look into the merits of the case soon and Hassan Iquioussen is studying the possibility of seizing the ECHR again”, announced Me Lucie Simon, his lawyer.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had refused to suspend the expulsion at the beginning of August, explaining that it only granted provisional measures of suspension "in exceptional cases", when the applicant was exposed "to a real risk of irreparable damage”.

Justice

Imam Iquioussen on the run, listed in the file of wanted persons

Economy

The Council of State gives the green light to the expulsion of Imam Iquioussen

  • Justice

  • Expulsion

  • Gerald Darmanin

  • Imam

  • Morocco