French men get suspended jail sentences over livestreamed death

PARIS, Aug 5 - Two French streamers received suspended jail terms on Wednesday following the death of a man they had subjected to violence and humiliation for several days on his own live video stream, apparently with his consent, a lawyer for one of the accused said.

The Nice criminal court found the two men guilty of inflicting violence on 46-year-old Raphael Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, and also of incitement to hatred for the insults they directed at him.

They were not accused of killing him as his death, while he and his abusers slept, appeared to have been due to poor health.

The incident, aired on the streaming platform Kick, shocked many in France last summer as they discovered how disturbing content aired on fringe parts of the internet can be.

Officials called for more regulation and stronger moderation, and the audiovisual and digital regulator Arcom and the Paris prosecutor's office opened investigations into the Australia-based Kick.

The streamers, Safine Hamadi and Owen Cenazandotti, said the violence and humiliations had been scripted and partly staged, and that Graven had consented to everything.

Hamadi, who expressed remorse during the trial, received an 18-month suspended prison sentence and must pay a €5,000 ($5,775) fine, his lawyer said.

"The conviction is mainly symbolic. We are satisfied with the ruling," said Tom Michel, Hamadi's lawyer. "My client acknowledged responsibility and that part of the content they aired was not acceptable and could not be consented to or scripted."

Cenazandotti received a two-year suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay a fine of €15,000.

Both were banned from posting on social networks for six months.

The court did not charge them with manslaughter after the prosecution said the probable causes of death appeared to be related to Graven's poor health and fragile heart.

It also acquitted them of abusing Pormanove's psychological frailty, as he had told police prior to his death that he had consented to the stunts, Michel said.

Prosecutors said Pormanove had netted about €265,000 ($306,000) from his streams between 2021 and 2025.

Kick is under formal investigation in the case and an arrest warrant has been issued for some of its officers.

Kick's legal representative in the European Union did not respond to a request for comment. REUTERS