Belgian Court Upholds Expulsion of Controversial Molenbeek Imam

Toujgani had filed an appeal at the end of last December before the Council for Alien Law Litigation against the decision taken by the then Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Sammy Mahdi (CDV), to withdraw his right of residence, recalls Belga.

On Friday, the administrative court ruled in favor of the Secretary of State’s decision to withdraw the preacher’s right of residence. The appeal was deemed inadmissible, as it was filed too late, according to the Council, which specified in its ruling that it should have been filed by November 12 at the latest. However, it was filed on December 24. It therefore did not consider it necessary to rule on the merits of the case, the newspaper reports.

As a result, the decision to withdraw the residence permit remains in effect. Mohamed Toujgani therefore does not have access to Belgian territory. However, the imam can still file an appeal against this decision in cassation, before the Council of State.

To recall, Sammy Mahdi had decided in October 2021 to terminate Mohamed Toujgani’s stay on Belgian territory, based on information from the security services "due to signs of a serious threat to national security." The decision is accompanied by an order to leave the territory, the same source points out.