Administrative justice maintains the expulsion of imam Hassan Iquioussen

The preacher from the North, registered as S and deported to Morocco in January 2023, can still appeal to the Paris administrative court of appeal, then the Council of State, and as a last resort the European Court of Human Rights.

The Paris administrative court rejected, Monday March 11, 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 “rejection[er] 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 ties to France, where he has resided since his birth.”

“None of our arguments seem to be really studiedreacted to franceinfo Lucie Simon, the imam’s lawyer, announcing that he would appeal. Erroneous elements are included in the decision. In fact, it leaves the feeling, and I obviously hope I am wrong, that a defense was not audible in Mr. Iquioussen’s file.”

Remedies still possible

At the end of July 2022, the Minister of the Interior announced the expulsion of Hassan Iquioussen, preacher from the North, listed as S by the intelligence services. 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, where he was arrested, then deported to Morocco in January 2023 .

Born in France, Hassan Iquioussen decided when he came of age not to opt for French nationality. To contest his expulsion, he 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.