Europe 1 PJ Service
modified to
7:06 p.m., August 31, 2022
Morocco suspended last night, mainly for internal political reasons, the consular pass allowing its expulsion. Europe 1 learned the information from several sources in Rabat. Consequences: if he is arrested, Iquioussen can no longer be expelled for the moment, even if according to several French police sources, discussions are continuing between France and Morocco. The consular pass, essential sesame to expel a foreigner in an irregular situation, was issued on August 1, 2022. It is valid for 60 days.
An expulsion that cannot be immediate
If the preacher is arrested in France or if he is handed over to the French authorities, he cannot be expelled at this time. Concretely, as soon as he is arrested, the imam will be placed in an administrative detention center for a maximum of 90 days. A period during which France will probably seek to lift the suspension of the consular pass.
Contacted, Gérald Darmanin’s entourage said: “It would be incomprehensible for this document, which has no other function than to formalize Morocco’s recognition of Hassan Iquioussen’s nationality, to be suspended. How can we recognize the nationality of one of its nationals one day and no longer recognize it the next day?
The imam still at large
Since the announcement of his expulsion validated by the Council of State on Tuesday, Imam Hassan Iquioussen has run away and is now on the run. The French police are convinced that he is in Belgium. As of Tuesday, the Europe 1 correspondent was able to see, at the foot of his door, that the imam was no longer there. Immediately afterwards, the prefect of the North and Hauts-de-France Georges-François Leclerc, the craftsman of this expulsion procedure extremely well put together in its administrative part, made an article 40, for what is called a ” avoidance of deportation”.
The judicial police were seized and the imam now appears in the file of wanted persons, the “RPF”. The Belgian police are also on their trail. If Hassan Iquioussen is arrested in Belgium, France will issue an international letter of request or a European arrest warrant to recover him. The two countries are used to working together, so the procedure could be quick. Whether arrested in France or Belgium, the imam should be expelled shortly afterwards to Morocco, more precisely to Casablanca, from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
However, several questions remain unanswered, including how long ago Hassan Iquioussen fled his home? Several sources suggest a departure a few weeks ago, while leaving his cell phone at home. This would mean that the fugitive may have been under technical surveillance from his phone but the physical surveillance, if there was one, was not flawless.