Two French Streamers Get Suspended Sentences After Man Dies During Livestream

A court in Nice, France, sentenced two livestreamers on Wednesday after they were found guilty of hurting and humiliating a man during online videos. The man, Raphael Graven, later died — though the court said the streamers did not directly cause his death. The case shocked many people in France and started a big debate about how harmful content on the internet should be handled.

The two men — Safine Hamadi and Owen Cenazandotti — streamed videos on a platform called Kick. Over several days, they mocked, insulted, and were violent toward a 46-year-old man named Raphael Graven, who went by the username Jean Pormanove online. Graven appeared to agree to what was happening, and the streamers said the abuse was scripted and partly staged. Still, the court found that some of what they did went too far and could not be excused by consent.

Graven died in his sleep while the streamers were also sleeping. Doctors believed his death was caused by his poor health and a weak heart, not by direct actions from the two men. Because of this, the court did not charge the pair with manslaughter, which means causing someone's death by accident. The court also cleared them of taking advantage of Graven's mental health problems, since Graven himself had told police he agreed to take part.

Hamadi said he was sorry for what happened during the trial. He was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence, which means he will not go to jail unless he breaks the law again. He also has to pay a fine of €5,000, which is about $5,775. His lawyer, Tom Michel, said the punishment was mostly a message and that Hamadi understood some of the content they made was wrong.

Cenazandotti received a harsher punishment — a two-year suspended sentence and a €15,000 fine. Both men were also banned from posting on social media for six months. The court wanted to send a clear message that this kind of content is not acceptable, even if the person being hurt appears to agree.

The videos were watched by many people and caused outrage across France last summer. Government officials called for stricter rules and better moderation on streaming platforms. France's media and digital regulator, called Arcom, and the Paris prosecutor's office both launched investigations into Kick, the platform where the videos were shown. Kick is based in Australia, and a formal investigation has been opened against the company, with arrest warrants issued for some of its staff members.

Prosecutors revealed that Graven had earned around €265,000 — about $306,000 — from his streams between 2021 and 2025. This showed that shocking or extreme content can attract large audiences and make money, which is part of why this case raised so many concerns. Kick's legal representative in Europe did not respond when asked for a comment about the verdict.