Two social media influencers have been found guilty of mistreating and causing harm to a French streamer who tragically passed away during a live streaming challenge. Raphael Graven, also known as Jean Pormanove, was discovered unconscious on a bed by his co-streamers in a village near Nice, leading to the abrupt end of his livestream on the Kick platform after over 298 hours.
Safine Hamadi and Owen Cenazandotti have been convicted of aggravated violence in connection with Graven’s death, as investigations revealed a pattern of humiliation and abuse in the content produced by them. The court in Nice has issued suspended prison sentences to the duo, who argued that Graven had consented to the mistreatment.
Graven, who had a substantial following of over 500,000 on social media, reportedly endured severe mistreatment during the livestream, including sleep deprivation, physical violence, and consumption of harmful substances. The influencers involved in the incident, particularly Naruto and Safine, engaged in controversial behavior with Graven, such as force-feeding him, physical assault, and throwing objects at him.
Hamadi received an 18-month suspended prison sentence, expressing regret during the trial, while Cenazandotti was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence. Additionally, they were fined €5,000 and €15,000 respectively and prohibited from posting online for six months.
Despite the tragic outcome, neither Hamadi nor Cenazandotti faced charges related to Graven’s death, as the prosecution cited underlying health issues as contributing factors. The court also dismissed the accusation of exploiting Graven’s psychological vulnerability, as he had purportedly consented to the extreme challenges beforehand.
The investigation uncovered a disturbing trend of deliberate violence and exploitation of vulnerable individuals for financial gain within the livestreaming community. The streaming platform Kick remains under scrutiny by French authorities, although it clarified that the legal action pertained only to the two individual content creators involved in the incident.