French Authorities Suspect Controversial Imam Fled to Belgium After Expulsion Order

Where has Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen gone? The question has been asked since Wednesday, the day after the Council of State’s decision approving the expulsion of the Moroccan preacher from France. Undesirable in France and rejected by Morocco, which not only refused to welcome him but also suspended the "consular laissez-passer" that was to allow his expulsion, reports France 24.

France, through the voice of its Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, accuses the preacher of making remarks deemed contrary to the values of the Republic and had requested his expulsion on July 28, which was rejected by the administrative court. But the issue was settled by the Council of State, which on Tuesday authorized the expulsion of the latter. The institution, in validating it, considers that his "anti-Semitic discourse", "reiterated [...] after his apologies in 2004", and his "systematic discourse on the inferiority of women", constituted "acts of provocation [...] to hatred".

But two visits to his home in Lourches, in northern France, by the security forces were unsuccessful. The authorities denounce flaws in the surveillance of the preacher’s home. "The scenario that is now favored is a flight to Belgium by Mr. Iquioussen," said the prefect of Hauts-de-France, Georges-François Leclerc, at a press conference on Wednesday. The 58-year-old preacher, whose YouTube channel has 178,000 subscribers, has become a "delinquent" since "he has evaded an expulsion order," the prefect stressed, who has referred the matter to the Valenciennes prosecutor’s office.

For the prefect, "either Hassan Iquioussen, who is subject to an enforceable expulsion order and a referral to the judicial authority, is in a foreign country, in which case international cooperation will take place; or if he is on French territory and is arrested, he will be immediately placed in administrative detention," France 24 notes.

According to Christine-Laure Kouassi, spokeswoman for the Belgian Ministry of Justice, "Hassan Iquioussen is currently not included in the Belgian police database as a wanted person. This gentleman is therefore not the subject of a Belgian judicial or administrative search warrant," she adds.

Hassan Iquioussen was born in France but is of Moroccan nationality. He is said to have renounced his French nationality at the age of 17, according to the Interior Minister. He is the father of five children, the grandfather of grandchildren, all French. On August 1, Morocco had issued him a "consular laissez-passer", which was suspended a few days later. A decision not approved by the French authorities. "How can you recognize the nationality of one of your nationals one day and no longer recognize it the next day?"

For now, the imam remains untraceable and, on Tuesday evening, one of his sons told journalists in Lourches that he had no idea where his father could be.