- Rapper Booba launched a campaign against ‘thieving influencers’ in 2022
- It was aimed at Berdah, who said her life had been “destroyed for two years” by the abuse
More than 20 people who joined a rapper’s online harassment campaign against France’s “queen of influencers” have been jailed in the country’s biggest ever cyberbullying case.
The defendants, aged between 20 and 49, were given sentences of four to 18 months, half of which were conditional, for sending hateful or insulting messages to social media star Magali Berdah.
Each of the 28 convicts “knew about the cyberbullying that the victim was suffering from and made a conscious choice to participate in it,” the court in Paris ruled.
Their actions had “real consequences” for Berdah’s mental health, the judges added, with the mother-of-three revealing to the court that she was “on the verge of throwing (herself) out of the window.”
“Finally I have been recognized as a victim,” the 42-year-old told reporters. “My life was ruined for two years because of this,” she said. ‘It’s a wonderful victory.’
Berdah has 1.7 million Instagram followers and is a well-known TV personality in France
Berdah was targeted by rapper Booba, who launched a campaign against ‘thieving influencers’ in 2022 (Pictured in file image, 2019)
Defendants’ actions had ‘real consequences’ for mother-of-three’s mental health, court was told
The online abuse Berdah received included “rape threats,” “death threats” and “sometimes crude anti-Semitic insults,” attorney Rachel-Flore Pardo said.
The influencer was targeted by rapper Booba, who launched a campaign in 2022 against “thieving influencers” whom he accused of defrauding ordinary internet users.
He has been charged with serious intimidation, but was not among those convicted on Tuesday.
The court ruled that the defendants’ actions were a result of Booba’s messages, Berdah’s lawyers said in a statement.
In December, the rapper denied that he had put himself at the head of an online “mob.”
Booba is also infamous for a 2018 brawl at a Paris airport with his former protégée Kaaris, for which each received an 18-month suspended sentence.
Tuesday’s cyberbullying convictions, which include fines of up to €700, prove that “no one is safe behind their keyboard,” Berdah’s lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski told reporters.
The perpetrators must also jointly come up with compensation of €54,000 for the influencer.
Her lawyers welcomed the verdict in what they described as “the first part” of the case and said “the fight continues.”
Berdah, who has Russian and Ukrainian descent, works as a talent agent and runs a number of companies
Berdah himself will be tried in Nice in September for bankruptcy and money laundering in a separate case
Berdahm, who is Jewish and has Russian and Ukrainian descent, said it sends “a very strong message” that justice will be done in cyberstalking cases, adding that “it is worth fighting for and we should not have to give up’.
Berdah has 1.7 million Instagram followers and is a well-known TV personality. He also works as a talent agent and runs a number of companies.
The businesswoman herself will be tried in Nice in September for bankruptcy and money laundering in a separate case.
Her company, an influencer agency called Shauna Events, is also under investigation for fraud.
“Nothing can justify cyberbullying, least of all the behavior of the targeted person,” says her lawyer Pardo.