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Rabat – Authorities in Belgium are seeking to deport Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen to Morocco.
News outlet BFMTV quoted sources that Belgium will deport the imam directly to Morocco. Belgian authorities arrested Iquioussen in September of last year.
The imam has been facing a European arrest warrant issued by French authorities. The French Council of State gave the green light for the imam’s deportation last year after the Interior Ministry accused him of “proselytizing speech interspersed with inciting hatred and discrimination.”
Following his arrest, converging reports stated that Belgium refused to hand the Moroccan imam to France, where he was wanted.
BFMTV, however, stressed that Belgium attempted to deport the imam back to France in November, but France did not respond.
In response, Belgium decided to send the imam to Morocco to avoid “unreasonably” keeping him in detention.
“In order to not prolong the detention of Hassan Iquioussen unreasonably, the person concerned will be returned to the Moroccan border,” BFMTV quoted Belgian authorities as saying.
AFP quoted a source confirming the same information, stressing that France’s goal is for the imam to “remain outside the national territory and be returned to Morocco.”
The deportation will require another consular pass to be issued by Moroccan authorities to allow the imam’s deportation.
In September last year, Morocco canceled a consular pass it issued for the imam’s deportation.
Moroccan news outlet Le360 quoted a diplomatic source emphasizing that a letter from Morocco’s consular services was sent to French authorities to inform them that the previous consular pass for the imam’s expulsion to the North African country was “no longer valid.”
Iquioussens legal case sparked uproar from many, including his family and rights groups.
Last year in August, the League for Human Rights (LDH) criticized France’s actions against the imam, stressing that “there is a clear principle in a secular and democratic society: the only limits to freedom of expression are the possibility for others to exercise the same freedom, and public order. This principle must be respected.”
Born in France, Iquioussen is the father of five French born children. He is also the grandfather of 15 grandchildren.
The imam, however, does not hold a French citizenship. Iquioussen’s request to renew his ten-year residence in France had also been denied by the French government.
