Imam Abdourahmane Ridouane’s Scheduled Release Blocked by Arbitrary Legal Maneuver

Paris - On October 30th, French authorities rearrested Imam Abdourahmane Ridouane, president of the Pessac mosque, to justify his continued detention. Imam Ridouane, already in custody for his Palestine activism, now faces new charges of “apology for terrorism.” Initially, Imam Ridouane was scheduled for release on November 5, 2024, at which point he was to be placed under house arrest due to the French government’s deteriorating relations with Niger that hampered his forced deportation.

In a bid to extend his detention, the Ministry of the Interior issued a new alert on October 28th, alleging that new evidence of statements by Imam Ridouane amount to “apology for terrorism.” This additional charge represents an arbitrary legal manoeuvre aimed at keeping him detained beyond his scheduled release date.

The French government’s decision to prolong Ridouane’s detention underscores a pattern of targeting outspoken Muslim figures.

Rayan Freschi, legal jurist and CAGE International researcher, stated:

“This latest act of persecution by the French State represents a flagrant disregard for both common sense and the rule of law. The complicity of the French State with the Zionist regime, coupled with its profound Islamophobia and xenophobia, is exemplified in the case of Abdourahmane, a Muslim man from Niger and a vocal opponent of the genocide. The prevention of his scheduled release, which would have placed him under house arrest, through this artificial legal procedure serves to illustrate the reality of an Islamophobic legal infrastructure. Muslims who dissent face a legislative framework that is characterised by authoritarianism and arbitrary decision-making.”