The French Government has expelled a Tunisian cleric, Mahjoub Mahjoubi, who was accused of hate speech, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, has disclosed.
This was disclosed by the minister via a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) page.
Darmanin stated that the cleric had been expelled from the country some hours after he was arrested.
“The radical imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi has just been expelled from the national territory, less than 12 hours after his arrest,” he posted.
According to news reports, Mahjoub Mahjoubi was deported to Tunisia on a Thursday evening flight.
French media cited that the cleric showed an “intolerant and violent” version of Islam that may endorse “tensions with the Jewish community”, “radicalisation”, behaviour against the values of France, and discrimination against women.
The cleric had stirred controversy after he was seen in a viral video describing the “tricolour flag” as “a satanic flag” with “no value with Allah”.
Although Mahjoubi did not specify the country’s flag he was referring to, most of the public assumed he was referring to the French flag, which also has three colours.
The preacher however denied the accusations, stating that his statement made in the video was misinterpreted.
“This is the demonstration that the immigration law, without which such a rapid expulsion would not have been possible, makes France stronger. We won’t let anything go,” the cleric said.