The Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers (CCE - Foreigners Litigation Council) has rejected an appeal by Imam Hassan Iquioussen, a Moroccan preacher fighting to avoid deportation, according to a ruling published on Monday.
The imam wanted his order to leave the country with a view to deportation suspended.
Hassan Iquioussen is yet to be handed over to the French authorities. In the meantime, he will remain in a closed centre, according to the decision of the CCE.
His appeal to have the deportation to France suspended was refused because the Council felt he could not prove that it would cause him a serious, irreparable prejudice.
“He does not provide any evidence to suggest that he will not benefit from the guarantees inherent in the right to a fair trial if he is handed over to France and prosecuted in that country, even after his return to Morocco,” the CCE said on its website.
Born in France, Hassan Iquioussen fled to Belgium this summer after the French authorities decided at the end of July not to extend his residence permit and to send him back to his country of origin, Morocco.
At issue were comments that allegedly incited hatred and discrimination and a view of Islam that was “contrary to the values of the Republic”.
In its ruling, the Council said it was "not competent to hear an appeal against a decision to deprive a person of his liberty, that can only be appealed to the council chamber of the competent criminal court."
"The appeal is therefore inadmissible insofar as it is directed against the decision to maintain the prisoner in custody," it stated.
