The supporter slapped by Neymar in 2019, victim of harassment after the disclosure of his identity on Twitter, filed a complaint on Tuesday after an article by Mediapart that he was the target of a hostile campaign commanded by PSG, AFP learned from his lawyer.
This complaint was filed in Paris in particular for collection of personal data by fraudulent or unfair means, violation of professional secrecy, psychological violence in a meeting on a victim as well as for moral harassment.
Outed by Paname Squad
According Mediapart, PSG instructed a communication agency, Digital Big Brother (DBB), between 2018 and 2020, to create fake Twitter accounts to carry out hostile campaigns against targets of the capital club, which the latter disputes. The strategy revolved around a “reference” account, Paname Squad, which presents itself on Twitter as a “collective of Paris Saint-Germain enthusiasts”.
Among the targets was the Stade Rennais supporter slapped by Neymar after PSG’s defeat in the 2019 Coupe de France final. Paname Squad had revealed their identity and year of birth on Twitter. “Following the disclosure of his identity, he was arrested in the street, the clientele of his restaurant dropped, people passed in front of his home and threatened him”, is it underlined in the complaint which also mentions “cyberharassment”.
The role of the former referent-supporters
According The Parisian, PSG would have obtained its identity from a former agent of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), Malik N., who had been hired in 2018 as referent-supporters at PSG. The latter, suspected of having with two other men played on his relations to transmit sensitive and confidential information to institutions, including the PSG, was indicted on September 29 in particular for complicity and concealment of violation of professional secrecy.
According to the complaint, “there is no doubt that such a campaign was intentionally carried out to destabilize the complainant and prevent him, in particular, from filing a complaint” against Neymar. The supporter will finally file a complaint in May 2019, which will lead in October 2021 to a reminder of the law for the player. “The Paris prosecutor’s office should begin to consider that there are victims in this case and that digital lynching is a form of violence,” said Philippe Ohayon, the plaintiff’s lawyer.