After the publication of a video in which he “called for a severe correction to be given to a man appearing to reside in Algeria”, the “Doualemn” influencer, 59, was deported to Algiers, before being immediately sent back to Paris .
The Algerian influencer “Doualemn”, cleaning agent in a sports hall, arrested in Montpellier last Sunday, and who had been deported to Algeria this Thursday was finally returned to France in the evening. His country of origin refused him entry on national soil, as indicated to Agence-France-Presse (AFP) by a police source. His return plane landed at Roissy airport on Thursday evening.
The 59-year-old man was then placed in an administrative detention center (CRA) in Mesnil-Amelot (Seine-et-Marne). Last Tuesday, the public prosecutor of Montpellier, Fabrice Belargent, announced that the man would be tried on February 24 for “provocation to commit a crime or misdemeanor”, without placing him in pre-trial detention or under judicial supervision.
He recognizes a “language gap”
Followed on TikTok by nearly 140,000 subscribers, he was arrested then placed in the CRA of Nîmes (Gard) before his expulsion to Algeria, following a video published on the social network in which he “called for give a severe correction to a man appearing to reside in Algeria. He was then the subject of a report by the mayor of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse, and the prefect of Hérault, François-Xavier Lauch. The latter explained that the video published in Arabic called for “kill”, “to cause suffering” and targeted “an opponent of the current regime in Algeria”, justifying the withdrawal of his residence permit and his expulsion from French territory.
Problematically, the public prosecutor of Montpellier, Mr. Belargent, specified that translations of the video in question, “carried out by two expert interpreters (…) established that the words “kill him” had not been pronounced” and that the video “did not contain a call to kill a person named ‘Cohen'”. One thing is certain, the influencer recognized a “gap” in language, which he “bitterly regrets”, according to his lawyer. He indicates that his client “did not call for murder”.
Banned from entering Algeria
As soon as he arrived, he immediately left. “Doualemn”, 59 years old, was simply failed when he touched down on Algerian territory this Thursday. The local authorities had in fact “banned him from the territory”, as indicated by a police source to Agence-France-Presse (AFP). “The rest will depend on discussions with Agler,” specifies a source close to the matter to the daily Le Figaro.
In fact, discussions with Algiers could be relatively complicated given the tense diplomatic relations between Algeria and France. In recent days, several Algerian influencers have been arrested. Like “Zazou Youcef”, followed by more than 400,000 subscribers on the social network TikTok and arrested in Brest last week. He had called for attacks in France in recent videos, particularly against opponents of the Algerian regime in France. All the details are available in this article, published on January 3.
Boualem Sansal, barometer of the diplomatic climate between Paris and Algiers
The case of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal is the perfect illustration of the tensions between France and Algeria. Placed in pre-trial detention, he is accused of “undermining the integrity of the national territory”, which is considered a terrorist act. He therefore risks life imprisonment, or even the death penalty.A successful writer, Boualem Sansal is known for his critical stance towards the Algerian regime and Islamism. Several of his books have even been censored in Algeria, but are, for example, published in France. In 2015, he won the Grand Prix du roman from the Académie française for his novel 2084: the end of the worldpublished by Gallimard. Despite the threats, he never agreed to give in under pressure from Algiers and even returned “regularly” to his country, specifies the Marianne newspaper.
The Algerian authorities did not digest Emmanuel Macron’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for the disputed territory of Western Sahara last July. A former Spanish enclave, this area is mainly controlled by Morocco, but claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers. Since the French head of state recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over this territory, the neutrality of Paris is no longer and relations with Algiers are delicate.