Arrested this Friday, January 3, 2025, in the early morning, while he was staying with one of his relatives, in the Bellevue district, in Brest, Youcef A. was placed in police custody for a period of 48 hours. He is being prosecuted for advocating terrorism and provoking hatred and violence. But who is behind the profile of “ZazouYoucef”, his nickname on social networks, where his videos, broadcast daily, were followed by more than 400,000 people?
Already sentenced in 2023
Born in Mostaganem, 80 km east of Oran, on the northern Algerian coast, Youcef A. celebrated his 25th birthday in November. The young man posted videos almost every day, notably on his TikTok account, where he spoke, in front of the camera, to his community of around 410,000 followers, before the suspension of his profile, Thursday January 2, 2025, at the beginning afternoon.
Just as present on Facebook, he has published more than a thousand photos in the space of barely two years, many of them in various places in Brest. His last post was a publication shared this Friday, shortly after 3 a.m., just a few hours before his arrest.
Arriving on French territory in 2020, Youcef A. was sentenced to twelve months in prison by the criminal chamber of the Brest court for his participation in the urban riots of the summer of 2023, following the death from Nahel in the Paris region. He was accused of two offenses committed in the Keredern district: the damage to the sports complex of the Brest Tennis Club by means dangerous to people and the obstruction of the arrival of emergency services to combat a disaster.
Father of a little girl
According to our information, his residence permit was not renewed by the prefect of Finistère after his conviction in December 2023. A judgment which he appealed. Youcef A. is also the father of a little girl born in 2022 on French soil. This family situation may have complicated the application of the OQTF (obligation to leave French territory) to which he was subject with the Algerian authorities, given the context of tension between his country of origin and France.
His passion for football also shines through his countless publications. It was not uncommon to come across him at the Francis-Le Blé stadium or on the Bellevue synthetic pitch on Sundays, as a resident of the neighborhood where he was arrested, Algerian team jersey on his back, confirmed to us. .
France
