Two convicted in death of French streamer Raphaël Graven

Both men were also banned from posting on social networks for six months. The court did not charge either man with manslaughter. Prosecutors said the probable causes of Graven's death appeared to be related to his poor health and a fragile heart, and an autopsy ruled out third-party intervention.

The pair were convicted of aggravated violence and incitement to hatred for the insults directed at Graven, but were acquitted of abusing his psychological frailty because Graven had told police he consented to the stunts. Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, died in August 2025 during a livestream on the platform Kick, after a broadcast that had run continuously for 12 days. He had built a following of more than one million across social media by participating in extreme content in which he was slapped, punched, sprayed with water and paint, subjected to electric shocks, and verbally humiliated.

"The conviction is mainly symbolic. We are satisfied with the ruling. My client acknowledged responsibility and that part of the content they aired was not acceptable and could not be consented to or scripted." During the trial, Hamadi expressed remorse, telling RTL radio that he regretted "not having been a true friend" to Graven and not forcing him to see doctors. Cenazandotti, known online as "Naruto," had previously struck a more defiant tone, saying in a January 2026 YouTube video: "I kept quiet for four months. Today I'm back, and I piss all over every one of you."

Both men maintained that the violence was scripted and staged with Graven's consent, a claim Graven himself made to investigators before his death. Kick, the Australia-based streaming platform that hosted the channel, is under formal investigation by French authorities. In a statement to the New York Times, the company said it was not a party to the proceedings and had no comment on the outcome, adding: "The ruling relates solely to two individual content creators."

Prosecutors said Graven had earned about €265,000 from his streams between 2021 and 2025. The case has drawn attention to the darker corners of online streaming and prompted calls from officials for stronger regulation.