under an expulsion order, the president of the Pessac mosque is prohibited from leaving the territory

Monday 04th November 2024 02:45 PM

OHe can therefore be expelled and prohibited from leaving the territory. Unexpected consequence of the tangle of two procedures, one administrative, the other judicial, which target Abdourahmane Ridouane. The president of the Pessac mosque was to be tried immediately for advocating terrorism, this Monday, November 4, before the Meaux criminal court.

“The case is postponed until January 13, 2025,” indicates the Meaux public prosecutor’s office, requested by “Sud Ouest”. Abdourahmane Ridouane requested the dismissal to “prepare his defense”, adds his lawyer M^e Sefen Guez Guez. Abdourahmane Ridouane is accused of a post from July 30, on his Facebook profile, in memory of Ismaël Haniyeh, political leader of Hamas killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran, and his “noble fight to the point of martyrdom to defend the rights of Palestinian people.”

“Clear victory”

Pending the trial, the court opted, against the advice of the prosecution which requested pre-trial detention, for placement under judicial supervision with the obligation for Abdourahmane Ridouane to report once a week to the Pessac police station and… Prohibition to leave French territory. “A clear victory”, rejoices M^e Sefen Guez Guez.

Paradoxically, Abdourahmane Ridouane remains subject to an expulsion order. The same Facebook post from July 30 had precipitated, in the heart of summer, the fate of the president of the mosque, taken on August 8 to the administrative detention center (CRA) of Mesnil-Amelot, in Seine-et-Marne. The prerequisite for expulsion to his country, Niger.

An administrative procedure which, obviously, was slipping. Notoriously at odds with France, “Niger did not respond”, indicates Me Guez Guez, to the request for a consular pass and, incidentally, Abdourahmane Ridouane’s passport could not be seized. The maximum period of detention being 90 days, the president of the mosque will be able to leave the CRA on Wednesday, November 6, at 6:30 a.m. and return to Pessac. The expulsion order remains in force, but it will now be accompanied by house arrest, which cannot exceed 135 days.