Palestinian Exile Under House Arrest in France for 4 Years Without Conviction

"No materially constituted element is present in his file. On the basis of anonymous assertions and unsigned, undated, unheaded documents from prefecture agents, Mr. Al Ashram is condemned to life imprisonment," thundered the collective of several dozen Strasbourg citizens of Muslim faith.

Convinced that the accused is suffering these punishments for his Muslim faith, the collective wants to fight alongside him to "denounce this injustice that has lasted for four years in the indifference of human rights organizations and especially Muslim associations". In his community, indeed, Al Asharam intervened, four years ago, in Strasbourg mosques to give lectures and lead sermons.

Now under an order of expulsion from French territory, Al Ashram, assigned to the village of La Souterraine, in the Creuse, began a hunger strike on November 18 and was hospitalized on November 30 in Guéret. His health has deteriorated, reports Des dômes et des minarets.

The collective, for its part, denounced Stéphane Bouillon, the former prefect, who signed the expulsion order. According to them, the prefect has also been confronted with several cases in the past. "He was convicted of defamation for accusing a citizen of being a terrorist in May 2015 by the Paris Criminal Court. The court had also sentenced him to a fine of 800 euros and 7,000 euros in damages for the victim," it is specified.