France again bans human rights group’s director Muhammad Rabbani
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London: The French government sent the director of the prominent Human Rights camp campaign group, Cage, Muhammad Rabbani, back to London after detaining him for about 24 hours on his arrival in Paris on the allegation of spreading conspiracy theories surrounding ‘Islamophobic persecution'.
This incident occurred shortly after widespread riots erupted in France following the fatal police shooting of Nahel Merzouk, a French teenager with Moroccan and Algerian heritage.
Cage, known for advocating for communities affected by the "war on terror," had previously successfully overturned a travel ban for Rabbani in 2020.
However, upon his arrival in Paris last Tuesday for meetings with French journalists and civil society leaders, Rabbani was informed by the interior ministry that a new travel ban had been imposed, preventing him from entering the country. He was subsequently questioned and deported back to London.
The French interior ministry cited the heightened terrorist threat as the reason for the ban, claiming that Rabbani's presence seriously threatened public order and internal security.
The ban had been imposed just a month after Rabbani criticized the French government for allegedly "terrorizing" its Muslim community and engaging in what he termed a "racist government agenda."
Additionally, during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Poland, Rabbani accused France of joining China and India in religious persecution against Muslims.
In response, France accused Rabbani of being associated with a "radical Islamist movement" and spreading slanderous remarks about supposed "Islamophobic persecution" and mass surveillance by Western governments, including France.
The ban also referenced Rabbani's conviction in the UK in 2017 for refusing to disclose his mobile phone passcode when stopped under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Cage denied the French government's accusation that it helped radicalize "Jihadi John," the infamous Islamic State terrorist responsible for beheading Western hostages. The organization described the travel ban as absurd and an example of authoritarian overreach.
Rabbani asserted that the ban was a direct response to his speech at the OSCE conference, where he highlighted what he believed to be France's maximum repressive policing strategy disproportionately targeting Muslims.
Cage further criticized the French government, accusing it of feeling threatened by an NGO holding them accountable. Rabbani's ban appeared to be a specific targeting of a Muslim human rights defender, which Cage interpreted it as indicative of the very Islamophobia the government adamantly denies.
