The young Frenchman Sébastien Raoult, accused of cybercrime by the American authorities, was extradited on the afternoon of Wednesday January 25 from Morocco to the United States, where he faces up to 116 years in prison, according to his lawyer. “The extradition took place this Wednesday at Casablanca airport on board a flight to New York. The operation was carried out by FBI agents.told AFP a police source who requested anonymity.
French student accused of vast FBI hacking arrested in Morocco
The plane took off around 3:50 p.m. Paris time from Casablanca International Airport bound for JFK Airport in New York, the local news site said. Hespressand landed around midnight.
Sébastien Raoult is accused by the American courts of “conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and abuse”, “serious identity theft”and to be a member of “Shiny Hunters”group of “cybercriminals” suspected by American justice of being behind corporate cyberattacks. Among the victims would be Github, owned by the American computer giant Microsoft, according to experts interviewed by AFP.
Hasty extradition?
This 21-year-old former computer science student from Epinal (eastern France) was arrested on May 31, 2022 at Rabat-Salé airport on the basis of a red notice issued by Interpol to the demands of American justice. Residing with his parents in Epinal, the young man was in his second year of computer studies when he stopped his training in December 2021, according to his family.
Sébastien Raoult case: “I would like France to make its voice heard”, proclaims his father
He had been detained since June 2 in Tiflet 2 prison, near Rabat. His lawyer, Me Philippe Ohayon, had seized the UN Committee against Torture at the end of December, fearing his imminent extradition to the United States, but this body refused to register his request.
He has since seized the UN Human Rights Committee. “While the Human Rights Committee is seized, it seems that the extradition has been rushed. This kind of maneuver between the United States and France must never happen again.”, lamented the lawyer. “Here, the French and Americans agreed to bring about the extradition of a Frenchman for acts committed in France within the framework of an investigation carried out by a French investigating judge. This is unheard of in judicial history, ”accused Me Ohayon. In the United States, the ex-student faces up to 116 years in prison if convicted, according to the lawyer.
France-Morocco, tense diplomatic relations
Asked by AFP on Wednesday, Quai d’Orsay spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said that “The timetable for the extradition of Mr. Sébastien Raoult is a matter of sovereign relations between Morocco and the United States”. On July 20, the Moroccan Court of Cassation, ruling in first and last resort, issued a favorable opinion on the American request for the extradition of Sébastien Raoult.
Word of cybercop: “No one is safe from a cyberscam”
The extradition decree was signed at the end of December by Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akkhanouch, according to the usual procedure. Upon receipt of the executive order, the United States had 30 days to release the defendant. This extradition comes in a context of persistent diplomatic crisis between Morocco and France, accused in recent days of having “orchestrated” an anti-Moroccan campaign in Brussels.
Moroccan parliamentarians and media have denounced the recent vote of a resolution by the European Parliament which expressed concern about the deterioration of press freedom in Morocco and allegations of corruption weighing on this country.
