The mystery still surrounds the death of Daniel Sayad, a former member of the separatist “MAK” organization in Algeria, who was accused of recruiting girls for the benefit of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and who was found dead inside his home in France, at a time when he was expected to be brought before the French judiciary for questioning and confrontation with his victims.
While the French authorities have not yet revealed the results of the autopsy or the circumstances of the death, Daniel Sayad’s lawyer, Mina Arab Tigrin, was quick to cast doubt on the suicide hypothesis, stressing that her client had been waiting for months to be heard by the French judiciary to prove his innocence, and that he had never shown any indication of wanting to end his life.
The lawyer told BFM TV that her client's death was "very sudden," noting that she had met him only about a month earlier, and he was "in good shape" and seemed psychologically sound, adding that everyone who had been in contact with him had never considered the possibility of his suicide.
The lawyer said the fisherman's death was "very sudden," noting that she had met him only about a month earlier, and he was "in good condition" and seemed psychologically stable.
She confirmed that Sayyad was in constant contact with her, and that all he cared about was having the opportunity to defend himself before the French judiciary, after his name kept being mentioned in the investigations and testimonies related to the Epstein case without him being officially heard.
She added that her client was “very much looking forward” to being questioned, and that she had written to the French public prosecutor’s office more than once requesting a date to hear him, but that did not happen, considering that his death came before he had the opportunity to give his statement.
The lawyer raised further questions when she asserted that she did not believe in coincidences. She added that what surprised her was that "in the Epstein case, it seems no man ever reaches trial, which is extremely rare," alluding to the complexities of the case.
It is worth noting that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019, and French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who was facing charges of procuring Epstein's girls, was found hanged in his Paris jail cell in 2022, in two incidents that the official narrative indicates were suicides.
The lawyer said that the repetition of these incidents raises questions for her, but at the same time she stressed that she does not have any evidence that would allow her to talk about a murder, stressing that waiting for the results of the autopsy and investigations is the only way to know the truth.
In her defense of her client, Tegrin explained that Daniel Sayad had been working for years in the field of discovering fashion models on the streets of Paris, and that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein began within the framework of what she described as “professional cooperation,” stressing that most of the projects that brought them together were not completed.
She added that the number of women he referred to Epstein was limited, and that none of them told Sayyad, according to her, that they had been sexually assaulted or raped, considering that communication between him and Epstein was done through Parisian fashion agencies, and not directly with the women after they traveled.
However, this account contradicts what journalistic and judicial investigations have revealed over the past months, which have placed Daniel Sayad’s name at the heart of the recruitment network linked to Epstein.
The “Continuation of the Investigation” program, broadcast by the French channel 2, revealed last April that the name Daniel Sayad appeared more than two thousand times in the American documents that were declassified within the Epstein files, where he was described in some documents as a “potential recruiter” of girls for the American businessman.
The investigations included testimonies from a number of women, including French models, who spoke of meetings they had with a hunter in Paris before he led them to meet Epstein or invited them to travel to New York.
One of the models said she refused to travel after Sayyad contacted her again and offered to meet Epstein in the United States, while another confirmed that she had indeed traveled after Sayyad sent her a plane ticket and Epstein's address, but she left the place as soon as he asked her to take off her clothes and be content with her underwear.
The investigation also relayed the testimony of another woman who said that a hunter was asking her to identify and evaluate other girls for Epstein, suggesting that it was not just about the American billionaire, but perhaps other influential figures.
Emails between a fisherman and Epstein, dating from 2009 to 2019, showed an exchange of photos and comments about young women, including a message about a “beautiful 22-year-old French girl,” and another message indicating the search for a “new girl” for Epstein.
The scandal takes on another dimension, given that Daniel Sayyad was a well-known figure within the separatist "MAK" organization, having previously been presented by the movement as its diplomatic representative in the Gulf region.
Despite this information, the French police did not summon Daniel Sayad for questioning in recent years, which drew criticism from the victims' lawyers, before the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office recently announced the opening of an investigation into a complaint filed by Swedish citizen Ebba Carlsson, accusing Sayad of committing acts of a sexual nature that may amount to rape, the events of which, according to the complaint, date back to 1990 in France.
Lawyer Anne-Claire Lejeune, who represents six women who are complaining in the case, also confirmed that the name of Sayyad was frequently present in the victims' testimonies, and that a number of them confirmed that they had been recruited and introduced to Epstein by him.
The scandal takes on another dimension, given that Daniel Sayad was a well-known figure within the separatist “MAK” organization, as the movement had previously presented him as its diplomatic representative in the Gulf region between 2017 and 2020.
After the issue exploded in the media during the past months, the organization announced the publication of a letter attributed to Sayyad addressed to the leader of the movement, Farhat Mehenni, in which he announced his withdrawal from the organization, while apologizing for what he described as the damages inflicted on the movement, while at the same time confirming his adherence to his innocence of the accusations attributed to him.
Daniel Ammar Sayad is of Algerian origin and holds Swedish citizenship after immigrating to Sweden in 1980. He presented himself in some electronic correspondence as a “Berber Jew”.
The MAK organization, which the Algerian authorities have classified as a terrorist organization since 2021, provoked great anger in December 2025 when it announced from Paris what it called the “independence of the Kabylie region” and the establishment of the “Republic of Kabylie,” a move that was strongly rejected by the region’s residents and Algerian political and civil figures, who considered that it did not represent the people of Kabylie.
The positions of the movement’s leader, Ferhat Mehenni, also provoke condemnation because of his declaration of support for Israel, his establishment of public relations with pro-Israel figures and lobbies, his appearance on several occasions raising the movement’s flag alongside the Israeli flag, in addition to the emergence of the issue of recognizing the organization in discussions within the Israeli Knesset.
Tags:
america
