Icannot be found in France, he could have fled to Belgium and Morocco is no longer ready to welcome him as he is: two days after his validation by the Council of State, the expulsion of the Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen complicated. Implicated for remarks deemed contrary to the values of the Republic, this preacher close to the Brotherhood movement was erected during the summer by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, as an emblem of the fight against the “separatists that spread “an atmospheric jihadism”. According to information from BFMTV, he is now the subject of a European arrest warrant, in particular because of his potential presence in Belgium.
The Council of State gave the green light to his expulsion on Tuesday, but two “home visits” carried out by the authorities in the wake of Lourches, a town near Valenciennes (North) where he resides, proved unsuccessful. “The scenario that is favored today is a flight to Belgium by Mr. Iquioussen,” said the prefect of Hauts-de-France, Georges-François Leclerc, during a press conference on Wednesday.
“It will be forbidden to come to France”
The 58-year-old preacher, whose YouTube channel is followed by 178,000 subscribers, became a “delinquent” when “he evaded an expulsion order”, underlined the prefect, who seized the Valenciennes public prosecutor’s office.
READ ALSOWhat the State reproaches Imam Iquioussen
Gérald Darmanin said on Wednesday that he would give “information” about the preacher to his Belgian counterpart so that he could “not come to France”. “It will be forbidden to come to France. So much the better, ”he said, without mentioning an action by France to have the Belgians search for him and hand him over to the French authorities.
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