Belgian Court to Rule on Imam Hassan Iquioussen’s Extradition to France

On Thursday, during a new hearing in Belgium on the execution of the European arrest warrant (EAW) issued against him, Hassan Iquioussen renewed his refusal, arguing that the conditions for application are not met. According to the explanations of his Belgian lawyer Nicolas Cohen, the offense charged in France ("evading the execution of a removal measure") "does not exist in Belgian law." He will also add that a European arrest warrant is only valid "when a prison sentence is incurred." To support his argument, he cited case law from the Court of Justice of the EU. "In European law, it is forbidden to provide for a prison sentence for behavior related to illegal stay or refusal of expulsion." The indictment chamber of the Mons Court of Appeal (south) will deliver its judgment next Tuesday.

Gérald Darmanin had ordered the expulsion from French territory of Hassan Iquioussen, accused of holding "for years a hateful discourse against the values of France," to Morocco. A measure that had been suspended by the administrative court of Paris on August 5 on the grounds that it would constitute a "disproportionate infringement" of his "private and family life." The case will be brought before the Council of State. The latter examined the appeal and endorsed the expulsion of the Moroccan imam.

Since then, Hassan Iquioussen, who is registered in the FPR, the file of wanted persons, was untraceable. He is said to have taken refuge in Belgium. Information that will later be confirmed. A investigating judge in Valenciennes (North) will issue an arrest warrant against the Moroccan preacher for "evading the execution of a removal decision." Arrested on September 30 in Mons, Belgium, Hassan Iquioussen was released and then placed under electronic surveillance. The Belgian justice system refused the extradition request made by France, which prompted the prosecution to appeal.