The defamation lawsuit brought by the Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen against the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin was set by the Paris court for February 16, 2023. On October 21, the lawyers of the 58-year-old imam, claimed by French justice for evading an expulsion order, had taken legal action for public defamation against their client.
In their direct quote, consulted by AFP, the lawyers accuse the Minister of the Interior of having presented their client on Radio France, on September 2, as "
a delinquent, a fugitive and a separatist
" or even of having asserted that he had "
things to blame himself for
" and had "
evaded the court decision
".
An imam listed S
At the end of July, Gérald Darmanin announced the expulsion of this preacher from the North, on file S (for state security) by the intelligence services "
for eighteen months
", according to him.
But Hassan Iquioussen could not be found when this decree, which he challenged in court, had been definitively validated by the Council of State on August 31.
Read alsoArrest of Imam Hassan Iquioussen in Belgium: why his transfer to France looks uncertain
His lawyer Lucie Simon had challenged the validity of the arrest warrant issued by a judge in Valenciennes (North), considering that it was based "
on an unconstitutional offense
".
According to her, her client "
purely and simply respected French law by leaving France for Wallonia
".
Born in France, Hassan Iquioussen had decided when he came of age not to opt for French nationality.
He claimed to have given it up at age 17 under the influence of his father and then tried unsuccessfully to get it back.
His five children and his 15 grandchildren are French and established in the North: one of his sons is an imam in Raismes, another ex-elected PS in Lourches.
