two Algerian influencers prosecuted for advocating terrorism – RT in French

Placed in pre-trial detention, the Algerian influencer “Youcef Zazou” must appear in Brest court on February 24. He is accused of having made comments amounting to “apology of terrorism” on social networks. The influencer “Imad Tintin” saw his police custody extended on January 4 in Grenoble for “hateful remarks”.

Arrested on January 3 in Brest for having broadcast videos on TikTok inciting people to commit violent acts, Algerian influencer Youcef A. will be tried on February 24 by the Brest criminal court for “public apology for an act of terrorism” .

The information was confirmed on January 4 by the Brest prosecutor’s office, which specified that the comments made by the accused on social networks were at the heart of the prosecution.

“We’re going to make you like in the 90s. We’re going to shoot you. […] Do you want to go out on January 1st? Shoot them, we have to make the powder speak. President Tebboune, shoot them, they want chaos,” he declared in a video in Arabic with French subtitles broadcast on December 31, while miming shooting with his hands.

Aged 25, known on social networks under the pseudonym “Zazou Youcef”, Youcef A. faces up to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 euros, according to the press release from the Brest public prosecutor, Camille Miansoni.

A second influencer, known as “Imad Tintin”, was arrested on the evening of January 3 in Échirolles, near Grenoble, for similar videos. His police custody was extended on January 4. The facts with which he is accused have been reclassified as “direct provocation of an act of terrorism” online, according to the Grenoble prosecutor, Éric Vaillant.

Aged 31, he published a video, since deleted, inciting people to “burn alive, kill and rape on French soil”. These comments, described as “despicable” by the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau, were relayed by a screenshot of the video which has accumulated more than 858,000 views.

Wanted and under OQTF

Youcef A., born in Mostaganem in Algeria, arrived in France in 2020 and obtained a residence permit in March 2023, valid until March 14, 2024, as the parent of a French child, a press agency reported French.

However, “taking into account the facts of which he was guilty”, the prefect of Finistère, Alain Espinasse, decided not to renew his residence permit and notified him of an OQTF on April 18, 2024. After this decision, Youcef A. was registered in the Wanted Persons File (FPR), although he is neither on the S file nor identified for radicalization.

For his part, “Imad Tintin” arrived in France in December 2021. His application for a residence permit, submitted after his marriage to a French woman in August 2023, was refused. He is also subject to an OQTF, said the same source.