Brussels
A new twist in the case of Moroccan imam Hassan Ikiusen. Jailed in Belgium since his arrest on September 30, he has just asked a Belgian judge to be released and placed under electronic surveillance.
Putting him under the electronic handcuffs, which was decided by the investigating magistrate of Tournai on Thursday morning, obliges him to live in c. “ specific place (nationally, editor’s note)determined by order » the release, the spokesperson of the prosecution clarifies. For the investigating judge, the electronic surveillance system is sufficient to prevent a flight risk.
The 58-year-old imam therefore left Tournai prison later in the day and, according to BFMTV, is to stay with a friend in Belgium.
Legal mess
After Belgian justice refused to hand over Ickiusen to French authorities on October 21 and thus execute a European arrest warrant issued by Paris, this new chapter only adds to the legal uncertainty of this case.
The saga begins in July, when the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announces the deportation of this preacher from the North by the intelligence services in the S folder (for national security). “for 18 months”. The decree reprimands this close friend of the Muslim Brotherhood “conversionary discourse interspersed with hateful and discriminatory language and a vision of Islam that contradicts the values of the republic; »which he shares specifically with his 183,000 YouTube subscribers.
But when police sought to inform him of his deportation to Morocco in July, the imam was nowhere to be found. The run will not last. He was arrested in the Mons region in southern Belgium on September 30.
Public defamation
Hassan Ikiussen’s lawyers argued that the person concerned would not have a fair trial in France, mainly because of Minister Darmanin’s statements on television, and that there is no equivalent of the crime of evading deportation in Belgium. The argument was upheld by the investigating judge of Tournai, who therefore found that the European arrest warrant was impossible to execute and therefore the imam should not be returned to France.
“ Neither the law nor the prosecuting authorities can be instrumentalized for political purposes, perhaps it was Belgium that reminded us of that.”, then the French lawyer of Iquioussen, May Lucie Simon, rejoiced on Twitter. In the process, the imam’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against their client for public defamation by Gerald Darmanin.
An uncertain fate
Despite this publication, the case is far from closed. The prosecution appealed the decision not to honor the European arrest warrant. The case will be discussed in the Prosecution Chamber within ten days. Even if he stayed in Belgium, the preacher’s fate remains uncertain.
Born in France, he chose not to choose French nationality as an adult. However, since last year, he no longer has a residence permit in France, and he does not have one in Belgium. And in the office of the Minister of Justice of Belgium, they emphasized that if necessary, they will remove him “Foreign Hatred Procedural”.
Source: Le Figaro
