“Doualemn”, a 59-year-old Algerian with 168,000 subscribers on TikTok, was arrested on January 5 in Montpellier, in the south of France, and placed in an administrative detention center (CRA).
In a video, he called for “a severe punishment to be given to a man appearing to reside in Algeria”, and will be tried on February 24 for “provocation to commit a crime”.
For the prefect of Hérault, François-Xavier Lauch, this is a “call for torture” targeting “an opponent of the current regime in Algeria”, which justified the withdrawal of his residence permit and his expulsion, and he can be tried “without appearing in person”.
“Doualemn” was transferred to Paris on Thursday and then put on a plane to Algeria, but was returned to France immediately, Algeria having “banned him from territory”, according to the Interior Ministry. He was again placed in CRA.
Youcef A., a 25-year-old Algerian, alias “Zazou Youssef” on TikTok where he is followed by several hundred thousand subscribers, was arrested in Brest, in the west of France, on January 3. He had published a video calling for attacks in France and violence in Algeria.
Placed in detention, he must be tried on February 24 in Brest for advocating terrorism.
Born in Mostaganem, Algeria, arrived in France in 2020, he received a one-year residence permit in March 2023 as the parent of a French child, but which was not renewed due to convictions for theft and aggravated damage. Since April 18, 2024, he has been under an Obligation to leave French territory (OQTF).
Imad Ould Brahim, 31, an Algerian influencer known as “Imad Tintin”, was arrested on January 3 near Grenoble, in southeastern France, after posting a video calling for people to be “burned alive, kill and rape on French soil.
Tried on January 6 in immediate appearance in Grenoble for “direct provocation to an act of terrorism”, he was placed in detention and his trial was postponed until March 5.
Entering France in December 2021, he had requested in vain in August 2023 for a residence permit after his marriage to a French woman and is subject to an OQTF.
Sofia Benlemmane, a Franco-Algerian in her fifties who hosted lives on TikTok and Facebook, where she is followed by more than 300,000 people, was placed in police custody on Thursday in Lyon for “death threats and public provocation to hatred.”
She notably insulted another woman during a live broadcast on social networks in September, saying “screw your mother and your France”, “I hope you are killed, I hope they are going to kill you “.
A former football player, she was sentenced in 2001 to a seven-month suspended prison sentence after entering the pitch at the Stade de France during a France-Algeria friendly match.
If she firmly opposed the power in place in Algiers a few years ago, her speech has since radically changed and she now shows support for the current government.
Like Sofia Benlemmane, the tiktokers “Abdesslam Bazooka” and “Laksas06” were reported on January 6 for calling “hate or violence”. In addition to Sofia Benlemmane, one of the two others is also the target of an investigation by the Lyon public prosecutor’s office, which did not specify which one.
“Abdesslam Bazooka” attacked opponents of the Algerian government in a video on December 10, described as “traitors” and threatened to “cut their throats.” He has not been arrested so far.
On December 11, “Laksas06” covered a sound by another Franco-Algerian in which he presents members of the Algerian diaspora in France as “sleeping soldiers” ready to become “martyrs” to defend Algeria. He was not arrested either.
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