Imam Iquioussen: rejection of his request for annulment of his expulsion order in Morocco

Europe 1 with AFP // Credits: FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP 6:32 p.m., March 11, 2024

The Paris administrative court on Monday rejected the request for annulment of the expulsion order of Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen, a decision which Gérald Darmanin had made in 2022 a symbol of the government's fight against "separatist speeches" .

The court indicates in a press release "rejects Mr. Iquioussen's request for the annulment of the expulsion decision taken by the Minister of the Interior on July 29, 2022", judging that the imam "committed repeated acts of explicit and deliberate provocation to discrimination, hatred or violence against Jews, women and non-Muslims.

These acts justify, according to the court, "his expulsion, despite his family attachments in France, where he has resided since his birth".

At the end of July 2022, the Minister of the Interior announced the expulsion of Mr. Iquioussen, a preacher from the North listed as S (for state security) by the intelligence services.

The decree signed by the minister criticized him for “a proselytizing speech peppered with proposals inciting hatred and discrimination and carrying a vision of Islam contrary to the values ​​of the Republic”.

But the imam was nowhere to be found when the expulsion order was validated by the Council of State on August 31, 2022. He had fled to Belgium before being arrested there, then deported to Morocco in January 2023.

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“Truncated quotes”, according to the defense  

On February 26, the administrative court, which had urgently suspended the expulsion at the beginning of August 2022, studied the case on the merits, an appeal in excess of power in which the 59-year-old applicant notably demands a residence permit.

It was questioned during the hearing whether or not the proposals and videos of Hassan Iquioussen, between 2003 and 2019, undermined state security.

The Ministry of the Interior considered that the expulsion order was justified by the reiteration over several years of “systematic”, “without nuance” and anti-Semitic discourse.

It is a question of freedom of opinion and not of provocation, argued Mr. Iquioussen's lawyer, Me Lucie Simon, regretting that the ministry relies on "truncated quotes" and old facts that do not represent a threat .

current.

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

He claims to have given it up at age 17 under the influence of his father and then tried in vain to obtain it.

His five children and 18 grandchildren are French and held in the Nord department.

Mr. Iquioussen can still appeal to the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal, then to the Council of State, and ultimately to the European Court of Human Rights.