French investigators suspect controversial imam fled to Belgium | Abroad

“Our preferred scenario today is a flight to Belgium,” said Georges-François Leclerc, prefect of the Hauts-de-France region, during a press conference. As for Leclerc, Iquioussen is a “criminal” because “he evaded an expulsion order”. The pastor was previously accused of making statements that are contrary to the values ​​of the French republic.

The man is said to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood and, according to court documents, spoke out against the lay state, incited “a sort of separatism”, fueled “conspiracies about Islamophobia” and “developed anti-Semitic theories”.

The prefect already informed the public prosecutor’s office in Valenciennes on Tuesday evening, after “two home visits in Lourches”, Iquioussen’s hometown, had no results. One of the imam’s sons told reporters at the scene on Tuesday evening that his father was not at home, and that he himself did not know where he was.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin had requested the expulsion to Morocco. In recent weeks, this file has grown into a symbol file in the French struggle against “separatist discourse”. The French Council of State approved the expulsion on Tuesday.

A Moroccan source close to the file said on Wednesday that Morocco has suspended the “consular transit pass” delivered to Iquiousen on August 1. The decision to expel the imam was taken “unilaterally”, it now sounds. The 58-year-old imam was born in France, but has Moroccan nationality.

At the beginning of August it was already suggested that Iquioussen would go to our country. At the time, Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor called the situation “slightly premature”. “This man has not applied for residence in Belgium. I’m monitoring the situation. Hate preachers are in any case not welcome.”