Moroccan imam Iquioussen deported from Belgium after French legal battle
Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen leaves after a hearing at Mons' court of appeal in Mons, on November 10, 2022. - The hearing, held in camera before the indictment division of the Mons court of appeal, followed the decision of the council chamber, in first instance, to refuse to execute the European arrest warrant (mandat d'arrêt européen - MAE). The defence pleaded the absence of double criminality (the offence prosecuted must exist in both countries for the European arrest warrant to apply). (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
A Moroccan imam accused of “inciting hatred and discrimination” has been deported by Belgium where he had taken refuge after being expelled by France last summer.
Hassan Iquioussen, a preacher from northern France was flown back to Casablanca on Friday after the Moroccan consulate in Liege issued a pass on Thursday.
Last July French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced his expulsion, accusing him of inciting hatred and discrimination and conveying a vision of Islam contrary to the values of the Republic.
But he fled to French-speaking Belgium where he was later arrested.
Iquioussen was imprisoned and then briefly placed under house arrest before being sent to a secure centre near Liège in mid-November, following the failure of the European arrest warrant procedure ordered by France in the Belgian courts.
The preacher then issued several unsuccessful appeals against the order to leave the country that targeted him.
Although he was born in France, Iquioussen decided not to opt for French nationality.
He claims to have renounced it at the age of 17 and later tried to recover it.
He has five children and 15 grandchildren, all French.
