Implicated for remarks deemed contrary to the values of the Republic, this preacher close to the Brotherhood movement was erected during the summer by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin as an emblem of the fight against the “separatists” who spread “an atmospheric jihadism”.
The Council of State gave the green light on Tuesday to his expulsion, but two “home visits” carried out by the authorities in the wake of Lourches, a town near Valenciennes (North) where he resides, proved unsuccessful.
“The scenario that is favored today is a flight to Belgium by Mr. Iquioussen,” said the prefect of Hauts-de-France, Georges-François Leclerc, during a press conference on Wednesday.
The 58-year-old preacher, whose YouTube channel is followed by 178,000 subscribers, became a “delinquent” when “he evaded an expulsion order”, underlined the prefect, who seized the prosecution of Valenciennes.
The State representative envisages two scenarios: “Either Mr. Iquioussen, who is under an enforceable deportation order and a referral to the judicial authority, is in a foreign country, in which case the international cooperation will take place; or if he is on French territory and is arrested, he will be immediately placed in administrative detention”.
– Morocco “pass” –
According to Christine-Laure Kouassi, spokesperson for the Belgian Ministry of Justice, “currently Mr. Iquioussen is not listed in the Belgian police database as a wanted person”. “This gentleman is therefore not the subject of a Belgian judicial or administrative search notice,” she adds.
Gérald Darmanin announced on July 28 the expulsion of the preacher, who according to him is on file S (for state security) by the DGSI “for eighteen months”, before the Paris administrative court suspended this procedure, believing that it would cause a “disproportionate invasion” of his privacy.
A decision overturned on Tuesday by the Council of State, which considered that his “anti-Semitic speech”, “reiterated (…) after his apologies of 2004”, and his “systematic speech on the inferiority of women”, constituted “acts of provocation (…) to hatred”.
Born in France but of Moroccan nationality, Hassan Iquioussen has five children and 15 grandchildren, all French.
On August 1, Morocco had issued a “consular pass” to allow his expulsion from France. But on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said that pass had been suspended.
– Home under surveillance –
This decision would be justified by the “unilateral” nature of the expulsion decision and the absence of “consultation” the day after the decision of the Council of State, according to this source.
“How can we recognize the nationality of one of its nationals one day and no longer recognize it the next day?”, We reacted in the entourage of Gérald Darmanin, pointing out that “this document has no function other than to formalize Morocco’s recognition of Mr. Iquioussen’s nationality”.
Tuesday evening, one of the preacher’s sons told journalists in Lourches that his father was not present at this address and that he himself did not know where he was.
The prefect defended Wednesday flaws in the surveillance of the home of Mr. Iquioussen.
He “was likely to be in several places” and “the surveillance of his home was proportionate to the powers of investigation which the police services enjoyed in an administrative framework”, insisted Mr. Leclerc.
According to Gérald Darmanin, Hassan Iquioussen had decided at his majority not to opt for French nationality. He claims to have given it up at the age of 17 under the influence of his father, and then to have tried in vain to recover it.
