The Franco-Algerian influencer will be tried in March

A French-Algerian influencer, arrested as part of an investigation into online hate videos, appeared before French prosecutors on Saturday and will stand trial in March, authorities said.

A diplomatic row has broken out between France and Algeria over the arrests of several Algerian social media influencers accused of inciting violence.

Sofia Benlemmane, a French-Algerian woman in her fifties, was arrested on Thursday.

Followed on TikTok and Facebook by more than 300,000 people, she is accused of spreading hate messages and threats against Internet users and opponents of the Algerian authorities, as well as insulting statements about France.

He was ordered to appear in criminal court on March 18, prosecutors said.

She is being prosecuted for a series of offenses including incitement to commit a crime, death threats and “public insult based on origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion.”

The blogger had insulted a woman during a live broadcast in September, shouting “I hope they kill you, I hope they kill you.”

His lawyer Frederic Lalliard argued that Benlemmane had not committed any criminal offence, although his comments “may irritate or shock”.

Benlemmane, a former soccer player, made headlines in 2001 when she was given a seven-month suspended prison sentence for entering the Stade de France pitch outside Paris with an Algerian flag during a friendly match between France and Algeria.

Although he strongly opposed the Algiers government in the past, his views have since changed and he now supports the current Algerian authorities.