The Franco-Algerian influencer will appear in court in March

A Franco-Algerian influencer arrested as part of an investigation into online hate videos appeared before French prosecutors on Saturday and will stand trial in March, authorities said.

A diplomatic row between France and Algeria has flared over the arrests of several Algerian social media influencers accused of inciting violence.

Sophia Benlemmane, a Franco-Algerian woman in her fifties, was arrested on Thursday.

She has more than 300,000 followers on TikTok and Facebook, and is accused of spreading hatred and threats against Internet users and opponents of the Algerian government, as well as insulting France.

She was ordered to appear before a criminal court on March 18, the prosecutor’s office said.

She is being prosecuted for a range of offences, including inciting to commit a crime, making threats to kill and “publicly offending on the basis of origin, ethnic origin, nation, race or religion”.

In September, the blogger insulted a woman during a live broadcast, shouting “I hope they kill you, I hope they kill you.”

Her lawyer, Frederic Lalliard, argued that Benlemman had not committed a criminal offence, although her comments “may be upsetting or shocking”.

Benlemmane, a former soccer player, made headlines in 2001 when she was given a seven-month suspended sentence for walking onto the Stade de France pitch near Paris with an Algerian flag during a France-Algeria friendly.

Although she strongly opposed the government in Algeria in the past, her views have since changed and she now supports the current government in Algeria.