(AFP) — French authorities arrested three Algerians on Sunday suspected of inciting violence in TikTok videos, and at least two of them face terrorism-related charges.
These arrests come against a backdrop of growing political tensions between Paris and its former North African colony.
A video blogger known as “Imad Tintin” was arrested Friday near Grenoble after posting a video calling on his followers to “burn alive, kill and rape on French territory.”
The post was deleted after being viewed 800,000 times, but hard-right Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau posted a video capture on his social media accounts, condemning the post as “vile”.
A judge placed the 31-year-old blogger under judicial supervision on Sunday, the Grenoble prosecutor’s office said.
He was due to appear on Monday as part of an accelerated trial for “direct incitement to an act of terrorism”, the prosecution said.
“Imad Tintin” entered France in December 2021 and applied for a residence permit in August 2023 after his marriage to a French woman. But his request was refused and he is also the subject of an expulsion order.
– Charge of incitement to terrorism –
In a second case, a 25-year-old Algerian identified as Youcef A. but known on social networks as Zazou Youssef was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday in Brest, prosecutor Camille Miansoni said in a press release.
He will be tried there on February 24 for “public apology of an act of terrorism” in publications addressed to his hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok, she said.
He faces up to seven years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros ($103,000) if convicted, the statement added.
Zazou Youssef appeared in a video posted to TikTok on December 31, calling for attacks in France and violence in Algeria.
He lived in France with a temporary residence permit.
TikTok told AFP that the account from which the video was posted had been banned for posting several videos that violated its hate speech rules.
– Video targets Algerian activist –
The prosecution announced the arrest of Imad Tintin and Yousseff on Friday and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced a third arrest on Sunday.
The third man was arrested in the southern coastal city of Montpellier for violent remarks aimed at an Algerian activist opposed to that country’s government.
Prosecutors told AFP that local authorities reported a video in which the influencer said of the activist: “Kill him, let him suffer.”
The regional prefecture told AFP that it was considering withdrawing the blogger’s residence permit and issuing an expulsion order.
– France-Algeria tensions –
Tensions rose between France and Algeria after President Emmanuel Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara during a historic visit to the kingdom last year.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely under the de facto control of Morocco. But it is claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who are demanding a self-determination referendum and are supported by Algiers.
The Franco-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, a major figure in modern French-speaking literature, has been imprisoned by the Algerian authorities since mid-November on charges related to national security.
Referring to Sansal’s case on Sunday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he had “doubts” about Algeria’s commitment to a roadmap set by the two parties in 2022 to smooth out postcolonial relations.
“Zazou Youssef” and “Imad Tintin” joined “the war waged in France by the Algerian regime,” Chawki Benzehra, an Algerian dissident, told AFP.
Benzehra took refuge in France after participating in pro-democracy protests in 2019.
He accused the Algerian authorities of having mobilized a “significant” number of influencers calling for “violence”.
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