Aged 31, the Algerian influencer “Imad Tintin” was to be tried in immediate appearance in Grenoble this Monday. Imad Ould Brahim, his real name, requested and obtained time to prepare his defense. But he was placed under arrest warrant pending his new trial on March 5, while several other Algerians or Franco-Algerians are in the sights of the authorities for hateful videos on the Internet.
The president of the court cited the risks of pressure on witnesses or of fleeing abroad to explain her placement in pre-trial detention.
“Burning alive, killing and raping on French soil”
The person concerned, who is subject to an Obligation to Leave the Territory (OQTF) and faces seven years of imprisonment for provocation to acts of terrorism, denied during the hearing any terrorist aim and blamed the editing and translation of the videos, one of which, since removed, called for “burning alive, killing and raping on French soil”.
His lawyer Alexandre Rouvier, who had pleaded for a continuation under judicial supervision, requested additional information, believing that his client was “left to waste” while only “the scum of the case” is known at this stage.
“Fuck your mother, you and your France”
Other similar files have been in the sights of the authorities for several days. “Several influencers calling for hatred or violence in videos published on TikTok have been reported to the competent authorities by the Rhône prefecture in Lyon,” wrote on X the prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Fabienne Buccio.
According to its services, these are influencers supposed to reside in or around Lyon who have published videos “more or less recently” on the Sofia Benlemmane, Abdesslam “Bazooka” and Laksas06 accounts.
The first, followed by hundreds of thousands of people, is notably criticized for a live on TikTok in which she profusely insults another woman in Arabic, saying “fuck your mother, you and your France”.
“Abdesslam Bazooka” for his part attacks opponents of the Algerian government in an Arabic video published on TikTok on December 10, whom he describes as “traitors” and threatens to “cut their throats”.
Laksas06 for his part took up on December 11 an audio from another Franco-Algerian in which he presents the members of the Algerian diaspora in France as “sleeping soldiers” ready to become “martyrs” to defend Algeria.
“Kill” and “cause pain”
These reports follow three arrests of Algerian influencers in recent days, including that of Imad Ould Brahim on Friday in Échirolles, near Grenoble.
Friday morning, Youcef A., a 25-year-old man called “Zazou Youssef” on TikTok, was arrested in Brest for a video in which he called for attacks in France and violence in Algeria. Placed in pre-trial detention, he will be tried on February 24 for advocating terrorism and faces seven years in prison.
Sunday evening, an Algerian influencer nicknamed Doualemn was arrested in Montpellier after a TikTok video in which he calls for “killing” and “making suffer” a protester opposed to the Algiers government. The Montpellier prosecutor indicated on Monday that he would only communicate “when the direction of the case has been decided”.
