Saint-Denis pyjama party: Prank Facebook event at Jawad's, the man who hosted terrorists, has gone viral
Jawad Bendaoud, who said he lived in the flat raided in Saint-Denis, 'didn’t know they were terrorists' and was only trying 'to be helpful'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Thousands of people have been invited to a pyjama party hosted by the man said to own the apartment raided by French anti-terror police on Wednesday, in a Facebook prank that has gone viral.
Jawad Bendaoud, who claimed to own the flat in Rue du Corbillon, Saint-Denis, was arrested on suspicion of being linked to the Paris attacks, after terrorists allegedly plotted their deadly attack on the French capital at the property.
The bogus event “Soiree Pyjama chez Jawad” (Pyjama party at Jawad’s) has more than 213,000 confirmed guests for tomorrow night’s party and hundreds of thousands more have expressed an interest.
The event was created by “Jawad, the Isis host”, a prank page which has more than 66,800 likes on Facebook.
The public Facebook event is part of a deluge of parodies on social media, which mock Mr Bendaoud’s explanation after the suspected jihadists were found in his flat.
Mr Bendaoud explained to French TV channel BFM TV that he “didn’t know they were terrorists” and was only trying “to be helpful” when he was asked by a friend to rent out his flat to two people for a few nights.
He told the reporter: “I told them there were no mattresses, they said it didn’t matter - they only wanted water and to be able to pray.”
Bryan Charpentier, 23, who confirmed he attending the event on Facebook, said: “I think it’s pretty funny. We are all really tensed in Paris after the events and there is a feeling of insecurity. We need a breather and humour is a great way to relax.
“We were all very surprised at Jawad’s foolishness. He seemed so detached from the situation when the assault happened in his flat. So the teasing started because it seems improbable he did not suspect anything.”
The flat is believed to have been effectively a squat Mr Bendaoud rented out from time to times, reports the French newspaper The Figaro.
Three suspects were killed when the flat was raided on Wednesday, including Hasna Aitboulahcen.
She was the cousin of Adbelhamis Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of last week's Paris attacks in which 130 people died, who was also killed in the raid.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments