Bangladeshi women left ‘suicidal’ by TikTok troll

After reporting Mr Syed to Staffordshire Police, the father-of-two got in touch with TikTok to demand they take down the videos.

He said he was shocked to be told they found “no violation” of their community guidelines.

Undeterred, Mr Islam contacted the British Embassy in Paris in February 2023 to ask for their help and they put him in touch with an English-speaking French solicitor, Mathieu Croizet.

Mr Croizet filed a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office alleging Mr Syed had committed three serious offences under French law – repeated threats of violence and rape against an adult and child, child pornography and cyber-bullying.

However Mr Islam said he has had no real updates on how the case is going and his solicitor, Mr Croizet, said it could take a long time to reach a conclusion.

“The French justice system is understaffed and has a limited budget,” he added.

“Protecting minors is something the French justice system has promised to do but in France it is almost impossible to get abusive posts online taken down, even if they are making violent threats.”

He also told the BBC that “there is a lot of Islamophobia in France and Kamrul’s surname being Islam could be blocking the case”.

The BBC contacted the central police station in Paris and the courts in Versailles about updates on the case but have had no reply.