The radical Islamic preacher Mohamed Hoblos has been banned from entering the Schengen Area following announcements that he would be holding some events in some member states.
Hoblos was planning to make an appearance in Hamburg and Berlin. However, the German authorities announced that he had been prevented from entering the country.
As explained, Hoblos’ first attempt to enter the Schengen Area was via Switzerland, but he was denied entry. His second entry attempt was via Oslo, but the same happened.
Hoblos is very famous on social media and has thousands of followers on different platforms. During this week, he has two events planned in Hamburg and Belin. As revealed, he sold around 800 tickets for the event in Berlin. On the other hand, there is no available data for the Hamburg event.
In addition to Germany, he planned to make an appearance in the Netherlands, too. As NL Times explains, Hoblos was expected to give a speech at an event taking place in Utrecht this weekend.
However, he cancelled his participation, saying that he was not permitted entry, but he did not reveal by whom.
According to NL Times, the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands, Dilan Yeşilgöz, confirmed that Hoblos would not be permitted to enter the territory of the country.
Minister Yeşilgöz stressed that while freedom of expression “is a great asset”, the Netherlands does not welcome people who “propagate extremist ideas”.
Hoblos is currently listed within the Schengen Information System (SIS). This platform permits the member states to exchange information regarding individuals who have been categorised as extremists or undesirable, among others.
Taking into account Hoblos’ listing, Minister Yeşilgöz said that this is why he would not be permitted to enter the country.
The planned arrival of Hoblos in the Netherlands was not welcomed by the Mayor of Utrecht, Sharon Dijksma, either.
She said that those who make extremist statements should not have the chance to hold these kinds of gatherings and, at the same time, said there is room in the city for calls for violence and hate speech.
I think that if someone makes such extreme statements, he should not be given a stage in Utrecht. There is always room for dialogue and expression in our city, but not for calls for violence and hate speech.
While Hoblos will not be able to be physically present at the event, the authorities fear that he might join the gathering through a video call. In case this happens, the Dutch authorities said that they will look for ways to deal with the situation.
