Algerian influencer arrested in Montpellier was deported to Algeria, according to his lawyer

The Algerian influencer, arrested in Montpellier after a TikTok video containing a call for violence – and who theoretically was to be judged at the end of February – was “put on a plane” Thursday January 9 to Algeria, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from his lawyer, Jean-Baptiste Mousset.

Placed Tuesday in an administrative detention center (CRA) in Nîmes, this 59-year-old man, nicknamed “Doualemn” on TikTok, was taken to Paris on Thursday afternoon, from where he was able to contact his relatives and his lawyer from the airport tarmac, just before his plane took off, said M^e Mousset.

“The government hastened his expulsion,” decided by order of the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, “ to prevent it from being examined by a judge”regretted the lawyer, who announced on Wednesday that he would lodge an appeal before the Paris administrative court. “Exceptional means have been put in place to gag my client”he added.

On Tuesday, the public prosecutor of Montpellier, Fabrice Belargent, announced that this man, arrested on Sunday, would be tried on February 24 for “provocation to commit a crime or misdemeanor”without placing him in pre-trial detention or judicial supervision.

A language “gap”

A video published on TikTok by the influencer, a cleaning agent in a sports hall, was the subject of a report on Saturday by the mayor of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse, and the prefect of Hérault, François-Xavier Lauch . Speaking to AFP on Sunday, the Montpellier prosecutor explained that this video in Arabic called for ” kill “ et “to make you suffer” a man also presented as a demonstrator opposed to the government of Algiers.

On Tuesday, Mr. Belargent, however, clarified that translations of this video “performed by two expert interpreters (…) established that the words “kill him” had not been uttered. and that the video “did not contain a call to kill a person named “Cohen”?. “The accused, on the other hand, called for a severe correction to be given to a man appearing to reside in Algeria”he clarified.

If he recognizes a ” gap “ of language that he “bitterly regrets”son client n’a “not called for murder”Jean-Baptiste Mousset then insisted.

“There is in any case in his remarks a call for torture against an opponent of the current regime in Algeria. I considered that this was enough for his residence permit to be withdrawn and an expulsion decision to be taken”declared the prefect of Hérault on Thursday morning. The psychiatric expertise required by the prosecution was carried out on Wednesday and “he can therefore be judged without appearing personally”added Mr. Lauch.

A TikToker in police custody in Lyon

Two other Algerians were recently arrested, one in Grenoble, the other in Brest, for having posted content online calling for violent acts, often against opponents of the Algerian regime.

On Thursday, a Franco-Algerian TikToker aged around fifty, Sofia Benlemmane, was taken into police custody in Lyon, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran told AFP. According to a police source, he is accused of having disseminated hate messages and threats against Internet users, and more generally against all those likely to oppose the Algerian regime, and also insulting statements towards France.

The influencer, who regularly hosted lives on TikTok and on Facebook, where she is followed by more than 300,000 people, was placed in police custody for “death threats and public incitement to hatred”Nelson Bouard, interregional director of the national police, told AFP.

A former football player often seen at football matches, sporting events and demonstrations linked to Algeria, she was sentenced in 2001 to seven months’ suspended prison sentence and a three-year stadium ban after having entered a the pitch of the Stade de France during a France-Algeria friendly match. A few years ago, she was firmly opposed to the power in place in Algiers. In a 2020 video, she strongly criticized Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. However, her discourse has since radically changed, and she now shows support for the current government in Algiers.

On Monday, the Rhône prefecture indicated that it had made reports targeting three other influencers based in Lyon, including Sofia Benlemmane, and two other TikTokers known under the names “Abdesslam Bazooka” and Laksas06.