Zazou Youcef, whose real name is Youcef Aziria, who called on social networks to commit attacks, was arrested at 6:10 a.m. this Friday, January 3, 2025 in the morning, at a friend's house where he was staying in Brest, in the neighborhood Bellevue, on the third floor of an apartment on Square du Roussillon. “At this precise hour I was going to get my bread by car. Arriving near the stop sign at the bottom of the car park, I saw police officers arriving in three unmarked vans and a police marked car,” testifies a local resident.
For greater discretion, the police vehicles had been parked on rue de Saint-Brieuc, 200 m from the scene of the arrest. “There were around fifteen of them and heavily armed,” continues the resident questioned. I thought this operation was linked to a drug case. They let me pass. I went to the bakery. Half an hour later I came back and there was nothing left. The neighborhood was quiet. »
Apology of terrorism and provocation to hatred and violence
The door of the HLM apartment in which the two men were located was broken down using a battering ram. Agents from Brest Métropole Habitat, manager of the building, repaired the damage caused by this arrest this Friday morning. The two men were placed in police custody, which can last up to 48 hours. “They are being prosecuted for advocating terrorism and provoking hatred and violence,” specifies Camille Miansoni, the public prosecutor of Brest, contacted this Friday noon.
Not incarcerated after the riots
Arriving in France in 2020, Youcef Aziria, originally from Mostaganem in Algeria, has already been sentenced by the Brest judicial court. On December 4, 2023, he received a one-year prison sentence for his participation in the urban riots in the Keredern district, on the night of June 29 to 30, 2023, after the death of young Nahel in Nanterre ( 92). He was accused of having entered, with other young people, the Brest tennis club, and of having burned trash cans, a net and tarpaulins.
Struck with an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory), Youcef Aziria appealed the judgment before the Court of Appeal, which explains why he was not imprisoned.
The friend from the same town in Algeria
As for his friend, Toufik B., also a native of Mostaganem in Algeria, who could be his landlord, he is 41 years old. His criminal record includes a conviction in 2015 for insulting and threatening a law enforcement officer. According to our information, he was professionally employed and worked at night.
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