Like two of his counterparts, he is accused of having published videos on the social network Tiktok calling for violent acts. An investigation for “public and direct provocation and no follow-up to commit a crime” has been opened.
A third Algerian influencer was arrested on Sunday January 5 at the end of the day, in Montpellier. Like two of his counterparts, arrested in Brest and near Grenoble, he is accused of having published videos on the social network Tiktok calling for violent acts.
“Thank you to the State services, the magistrates and the police who made it possible to locate and arrest this individual this evening,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on X.
“Kill him, let him suffer”
A video of this Algerian influencer residing in Montpellier (Hérault) posted on the social network Tiktok was the subject of a report to the courts on Saturday by the mayor of Montpellier and the prefect of Hérault. “Kill him, let him suffer,” said this man nicknamed Doualemn, referring to an Algerian anti-regime demonstrator.
The mayor of Montpellier Michaël Delafosse recalled on Saturday on X that “incitement to hatred is an offense” and that as such “this video leaves no doubt”. On the same social network, the prefect of Hérault described these comments as “intolerable”.
Following these reports, the Montpellier police station was seized of “an investigation into the charge of public and direct provocation and not followed by effect to commit a crime”, specified the Montpellier prosecutor's office on Sunday to AFP, confirming the arrest of the influencer around 4 p.m.
Third arrest in three days
This is the third arrest of an Algerian influencer on French soil in three days, after those of Youcef A., alias Zazou Youssef on TikTok, in Brest on Friday morning, then that of Imad Tintin, one of his supporters , Friday evening in Echirolles, near Grenoble.
Aged 25, Youcef A. was placed in pre-trial detention until his trial on February 24 by the Brest court for advocating an act of terrorism. He faces a sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros, underlined the Brest public prosecutor, Camille Miansoni.
He was arrested early Friday morning in Brest, in the company of a friend who hosted him, suspected of being his accomplice but ultimately exonerated.
In a video published on December 31 on the social network Tiktok, the influencer, followed by hundreds of thousands of subscribers and whose account has since been deleted by the platform, spoke vehemently in Arabic, subtitled in French, calling for attacks in France and violence in Algeria.
He admitted to being the author of the videos targeting “opponents of the regime in place in Algeria”, according to the Brest prosecutor. Older videos had also been posted at least since October 2024.
The purpose of an OQTF
Supporting Youcef A., Imad Tintin, 31, was placed under judicial supervision on Sunday with a view to an immediate appearance on Monday at 1:30 p.m. for “direct provocation to an act of terrorism”, indicated the Grenoble public prosecutor's office.
He was arrested Friday evening in Echirolles, near Grenoble, after having published a video, since removed, calling for “burning alive, killing and raping on French soil”, according to an image capture taken by the Minister of Interior, Bruno Retailleau, who denounced “vile” comments.
Imad Tintin entered France in December 2021 and applied for a residence permit in August 2023, without success, after his marriage to a French woman. Like Zazou Youssef, whose residence permit was not renewed in March, he is subject to an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory).
For its part, the Hérault prefecture informed AFP that it was studying the possibility of withdrawing his residence permit in Doualemn and also taking out an OQTF against him.
