France's Council of State delays verdict on Pessac Mosque closure

France's Council of State has postponed until next week the verdict in the case of the Pessac Mosque in the Gironde department of southwestern France, which is threatened with closure for allegedly conveying a "Salafist ideology."

More than 100 faithful gathered to show their support to the mosque.

In a statement to Anadolu Agency, defense lawyer Sefen Guez Guez said after a hearing lasting more than two hours that the Council of State said investigations were still ongoing until next week.

"We will certainly have the decision by the end of next week, particularly in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election," he said.

He said the Interior Ministry is clear and that it is a question of doing everything to prevent Muslims of Pessac from meeting during this holy month of Ramadan while nothing in this case links the mosque to terrorism claims.

In its decree of March 14, the Gironde department argued that the association Rassemblement des Musulmans de Pessac and its president spread messages on the internet and on social networks such as Facebook and relayed writings from third parties "inciting violence, hatred or discrimination," encouraging "the commission of acts of terrorism" or "advocating such acts."

Guez Guez said he already won his case before the administrative court of Bordeaux and hopes it will be the same in Paris.

Several supporters who spoke during a rally organized outside the Council of State pointed in particular to the law against separatism which allows the closure of places of worship and the dissolving of associations.

But Guez Guez stressed that the Ministry of the Interior has "no grounds to reproach the mosque of Pessac."

The pending verdict will set a precedent and a very clear direction, he said.

He called on other structures that could be subject to administrative closures in the future to challenge the decision, saying the verdicts could be in their favor.

In a statement to Anadolu Agency, Abdourahman Ridouane, the leader of the Pessac Mosque, thanked those who turned up to show their support.

He pointed to the consequences of the law against separatism, of which he considers himself a victim and which he described as a "real threat to rights and freedoms."

The hearing Wednesday morning followed an appeal challenging the suspension of the order closing the place of worship by the administrative court of Bordeaux.

The court considered that the order of temporary closure for a period of six months issued by the Gironde department constituted a "serious and manifestly illegal infringement on freedom of worship."