Streamers who ‘tortured’ social media star Jean Pormanove ‘for 10 days’ avoid prison time
Two French streamers accused of repeatedly humiliating and attacking content creator Jean Pormanove before his death have avoided prison after receiving suspended sentences.
The Nice Criminal Court handed down its verdict today (5 August), sentencing Owen Cenazandotti, better known online as Naruto, to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a €15,000 (£12,900) fine.
Fellow streamer Safine Hamadi was given an 18-month suspended sentence and fined €5,000 (£4,300).
Both men have also been banned from posting content online for six months.
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Because the sentences are suspended, neither streamer will serve time behind bars unless they commit another offence or breach the conditions set by the court.
The case centred on broadcasts streamed between 2023 and 2025 on Twitch and later Kick, featuring Pormanove, whose real name was Raphaël Graven, alongside another man, Stéphane G., known as Coudoux.
During the streams, Pormanove was repeatedly slapped, kicked, whipped, hit with a baseball bat, soaked with water, insulted and shot with paintball pellets in content that prosecutors argued was designed to entertain viewers through humiliation.
Pormanove, who was 46, died during a marathon 10-day Kick livestream on 18 August 2025 after reportedly passing away in his sleep.
His death prompted widespread outrage, with French officials describing the content leading up to it as deeply disturbing.
France's former Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, previously called the case an 'absolute horror', saying Pormanove had been 'humiliated and mistreated for months live on the Kick platform'.
The trial, however, was not about what caused his death.
An autopsy found no traumatic cause of death and no evidence that another person was directly involved.
Instead, the court focused on the violence shown during the broadcasts themselves.
Prosecutor Maud Marty described the videos as a 'system of human mistreatment', telling the court: "The violence is the program. It makes the script."
Naruto denied intending to harm anyone, insisting the videos were planned entertainment.
"We didn’t see the harm," he told the court, while claiming the group 'did good for a lot of people'.
Safine also addressed the court, saying he was 'not proud' of his actions.
Both Pormanove's mother and fellow streamer Coudoux have previously defended the pair.
At Pormanove's funeral, his mother said they had given her son a 'good life', while Coudoux rejected the idea that he was a victim.
"We were a bunch of friends, it was just our delusion," he said.
Following the verdict, Safine admitted he expects 'to be called a murderer and be insulted by the whole planet'.
Naruto, meanwhile, said he plans to move on by creating travel content and writing material for other online creators.
Topics: Social Media, Crime, World News, Europe
Rhiannon Ingle