They are BarakaCity's lawyers but not Idriss Sihamedi, the sulphurous president of the Islamic NGO headquartered in Evry-Courcouronnes.
Me Vincent Brengarth and Me William Bourdon will defend this Monday morning, before the Council of State, the interests of the association dissolved in the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, on October 28.
At the same time, the highest administrative court will rule on the fate of the Pantin mosque, also closed “in order to prevent the commission of terrorist acts”.
The rector, M'hammed Henniche, is accused of having shared on the Facebook page of the mosque - followed by 98,000 people - the video of the student's parent who had attacked Samuel Paty, the teacher murdered in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines).
What becomes of BarakaCity, its employees, its money and its premises with this dissolution?
Vincent Brengarth.
BarakaCity was dissolved just as the decree was signed.
Everyone has been waiting since.
We are in a legal gray area.
The 47 employees, 8 of whom are in France, are in limbo and suspended from this crucial decision that the Council of State will make.
We believe that the decree infringes fundamental freedoms including freedom of association.
What are you going to plead this Monday before the Council of State?
We have argued that respect for life is violated, because the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights is constantly in favor of broadening the fundamental rights of the legal person.
The decision to dissolve is the administrative death of the NGO.
We also argue a violation of the principle of brotherhood.
This dissolution unduly deprives people of the humanitarian aid provided by BarakaCity.
During the first wave of Covid-19, BarakaCity offered to help caregivers.
We produced messages of thanks from the staff who received masks and hydroalcoholic gel because the State could not provide them.
Idriss Sihamedi, founder of the Muslim NGO BarakaCity.
Facebook BarakaCity
What the State accuses BarakaCity of is, under the guise of humanitarian aid, of proselytizing but also of "apological" messages for terrorism.
What do you answer?
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We are happy that the association comes to the aid when there are shortages of masks and once that is done, we cut you all off, we dissolve you because there is a terrorist attack with which you have no connection.
It is a posting policy.
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What the lawyers who defend BarakaCity responded to the Ministry of the Interior
In the dissolution decree, there are many elements accused of Idriss Sihamedi, the president of the NGO and not of BarakaCity ...
We make a clear difference between what comes under the activities of Barakacity, on the one hand, and certain public and personal expressions of Mr. Sihamedi, on the other.
The BarakaCity association has been in the sights of the authorities for years.
This materialized in a judicial investigation lasting several years which ended with a classification without follow-up in 2019
(Editor's note: for breach of trust and financing of terrorism)
.
It is on the pretext of this terrorist attack against Samuel Paty that we again put BarakaCity in the sights for no reason.
And to be able to justify the grievances, we mainly focus on certain messages from Mr. Idriss Sihamedi.
At the end of the decree there is the assertion that the president and the association are inseparable, which we dispute.
PODCAST. BarakaCity: who is Idriss Sihamedi, the president of the controversial association?
Why has the association never publicly distanced itself from Mr. Sihamedi?
The association considered that this fell within its freedom of personal expression.
Is that why you proposed the withdrawal of Idriss Sihamedi to the Ministry of the Interior to avoid dissolution?
Mr. Sihamedi is a very intelligent person.
Has he been clumsy in some of his posts?
Obviously, yes.
But in the name of what capillarity the public expressions of Mr. Sihamedi should have an impact and be representative of what the association thinks or accomplishes?
We must demonstrate that this would be in the public communication of BarakaCity.
It would also have to be shown that it had an impact on the activities of the association.
This is not the case.
It is an association which collects millions of euros, which helps millions of people.
If she had a hateful prism, it would show in the way she conducts her business.
We asked what was wrong, for example we proposed to think about possibly more moderation of comments on social networks.
What did the Ministry of the Interior tell you?
We have not had an answer.
The next day, Gérald Darmanin announced on France Inter the dissolution of BarakaCity and published the dissolution decree on social networks even before it was notified.
Who can believe that we are fighting terrorism by posting a decree of dissolution on Twitter?
It is not measures of this type that will make it possible to put an end to terrorism.
Idriss Sihamedi has announced that he wants to settle in Turkey and set up the headquarters of BarakaCity there.
What is it?
The choices made by the association, which are political choices, belong to it.
It just shows in which extremity the association finds itself which in order to preserve itself is obliged to go and claim a form of asylum in a country of which we know the little attachment to human rights.
For the government, BarakaCity "incites hatred"
In its decree of dissolution, the government considers that BarakaCity "incited hatred, maintained relations within the radical Islamist movement" and "took pleasure in justifying terrorist acts".
It is especially the speech of the founder of BarakaCity, Idriss Sihamedi, who is targeted by the executive, who clearly associates the association with the one who embodies it.
Its positions "form a whole revealing of the intentions of the association", writes the decree.
A few of his social media posts are mentioned.
August 27: “To die as a martyr is the most beautiful thing in the life of a believer”, or again on September 3, during the trial of the 2015 attacks: “May Allah curse Charlie and set their graves on fire in the heat of Sun ".
The lack of moderation of "hateful" comments posted under the publications of BarakaCity is also criticized.
As well as the clear non-condemnation of Daesh by Sihamedi, on Canal + in 2016, and its recent attacks on social networks against columnist Zohra Bitan and journalist Zineb El Rhazoui.
