“We are often exposed to hatred, but never on this scale.” At the helm of the 10th criminal chamber of the Paris judicial court, Magali Berdah steps forward. Beige vest, blue shirt with rhinestones on the back and large black boots. In the trial which opened this Monday, November 27, she testifies as a civil party. Behind her, a room scattered between full benches of lawyers, a few relatives and especially people suspected of having participated in these “raids”. Until December 5, there will be thirteen defendants who will have to respond to acts of cyberharassment to which are added threats of crime, rape and death; as well as in some cases anti-Semitic insults. In total, 28 people will be tried over several months during three different trials.
This Monday, the thirteen defendants are not all present. Seven won’t come. Others will not be represented either. For the civil party’s lawyer, Maître Antonin Gravelin-Rodriguez, their absence is regrettable. Disappointment is also felt on the side of Magali Berdah who wishes to be recognized as a victim during these trials. “I would have liked those who were absent to hear me, to realize what they had done. People need to understand the violence of cyberbullying.” Violence compared by Magali Berdah to a truck hit in the face. “It was frontal, it was non-stop and getting worse and worse.”
“Every day, a different accusation”
In a few months, between May and September 2022, there will be nearly 70,000 malicious messages sent via tweets or private messages. Everyone would have followed the digital raid launched by rapper Booba in his fight against “influvoleurs” in the spring of 2022 where Magali Berdah had largely been targeted as responsible for numerous scams. During this hearing, the rapper’s name will be mentioned many times. Much more than the names of the defendants in fact. “Booba acts like an engine, the messages [malveillants] go upwards when he talks about me,” summarizes Magali Berdah.
For eighteen months, the life of the influencer agent was spied on, dissected, revealed… right down to the schedule of her security agent. “Every day it was a different accusation. One day, I was a CPF scammer. The next day, a murderer after the murder of my sister-in-law. Sometimes a bad mother because my daughter went clubbing. Then, a bad Jewess and sometimes the Mossad. I have been accused of all the evils of the earth and it sticks in my head.” Pornographic images – proven to be false – were also relayed. “I haven’t had a moment in my life that hasn’t been portrayed in a negative way. I was no longer audible. I was just an immoral person.” Questioned by the defense about the various accusations against her, Magali Berdah admits to having made mistakes. “That doesn’t give people the right to threaten death. No one deserves to be threatened with death in the morning and to go to bed at night risking being threatened with death,” she responds on the stand.
“Everything fell apart, I lost everything”
More than a year after the events, the repercussions on his life are still very present. Psychological tests described by the court show feelings of fear and insecurity, sleep disturbances and appetite disturbances. “It’s as if today I had become a monster, he [Booba] has soiled everything that I am. Everything fell apart, I lost everything.” Malicious messages sometimes continue to be sent to him. They will not be cited during this trial which only takes into account the period between May and September 2022.
During this period Magali Berdah admits to having had suicidal thoughts. “The only way you can make this stop is to die.” Although today she has been able to return to work as commercial director of Shauna Events, Magali Berdah explains that she had to move accommodation and offices several times when the GPS points of these addresses were revealed on social networks. “Today we work at home. Employees do not feel safe.” One of his three daughters was also out of school. The school of the other two was eventually disclosed. Magali Berdah now expects a lot from this trial. “When I was told about these arrests, I had the impression that things were going to change, that my life was going to be able to start again. But the pack didn’t stop. This whole process has to be of some use.” But above all, Magali Berdah wants to return to a normal life, like before. “I just want us to be able to sleep peacefully.” My husband, my children and me.”