Belgian justice refuses to hand over Imam Hassan Iquioussen to French authorities

Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, obviously hoped for a quick decision in accordance with his wishes: according to him, it was appropriate for Belgian justice to hasten to hand over Hassan Iquioussen to the French authorities, “in execution of the European arrest warrant issued against him. The 58-year-old Moroccan imam, targeted by a deportation order in France, was on the run and had been arrested on September 30 in Jemappes, near the city of Mons, in Belgium. An investigating judge in Valenciennes (North) had issued a European warrant against him for “evading the execution of a deportation decision”. Friday, October 21, the council chamber of Tournai, a body responsible for examining the charges against a defendant, refused the execution of the warrant, giving reason to the person concerned and his lawyers, who disputed the reasons given by the France. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers France wants to quickly recover Imam Hassan Iquioussen after his arrest in Belgium It seemed very likely on Friday that the prosecution would appeal the decision to the indictment chamber, a chamber of the court of appeal. Incarcerated in the prison of Tournai, Hassan Iquioussen remains currently detained and the comments of his Belgian and French lawyers, Me Nicolas Cohen and Me Lucie Simon, were very cautious, in the evening: the details of the judgment will not be known before Monday October 24 . “Unconstitutional” offense Before the council chamber, which sits behind closed doors, the defenders of the “preacher of the estates”, implicated in France for his “proselytizing speech (…) carrying a vision of Islam contrary to the values ​​of the Republic”, developed purely legal arguments to demonstrate what Me Simon called “the absurdity” of the mandate issued by the French authorities. According to her, her client only respected the law by leaving France, a country which intended to force her to leave its territory. The offense with which he is charged is therefore “not constituted”. “The European arrest warrant is a judicial procedure, not a political one, but France has hijacked it for political ends”, indicated Me Cohen, also considering that the imam risked an “unfair” trial in France, given the “scale of the controversy” surrounding his case. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers After the disappearance of Imam Hassan Iquioussen, questions and criticism in amateurism The evasion of a deportation measure, punishable by imprisonment in France, is not by European law on foreigners or Belgian law, also pleaded the lawyer. This would therefore make impossible the principle of automaticity provided for by the rules of the European warrant, designed to speed up extradition procedures but on the condition that the offenses invoked by the requesting country are also punishable in the other. You have 34.8% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.