Update on the case of Sébastien Raoult, Frenchman imprisoned in Morocco

• The American justice of the State of Washington issued on June 23, 2021 an arrest warrant against the French Sébastien Raoult, accusing him in particular of "conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and abuse", "electronic fraud" and "theft serious identity".

• American justice suspects the 21-year-old young man of being a member of the "ShinyHUnters", accused of being "prolific cybercriminals" since "at least 2019" and who would have targeted Microsoft in particular.

• 20 Minutes

  takes stock of this case which arouses a lot of emotion in France while Morocco, where Sébastien Raoult has been imprisoned for two months, delivered a "favorable opinion" on Monday for extradition to the United States.

Sébastien Raoult has been imprisoned for two months in Morocco at the request of the American authorities.

The 21-year-old Frenchman is suspected of being a member of a group of cybercriminals who have targeted American companies in particular.

Since then, his father has requested his extradition to France rather than to the United States.

On Monday, Morocco's Court of Cassation, the highest in the country, ruled against the young man, who still hopes to obtain his surrender to France.

takes stock of this affair which arouses a lot of emotion in France where the father of Sébastien Raoult recently appealed to Emmanuel Macron to help him.

Who is Sebastien Raoult?

Residing with his parents in Epinal, Sébastien Raoult was in his second year of computer studies when, according to his family, he stopped his training in December 2021. “He was in a phase of breaking with studies.

He wanted to live, to discover the world and to travel and felt like he was wasting his time at school, ”explained his father Paul Raoult.

The 21-year-old Frenchman was staying in Morocco when he was arrested.

Why is Sébastien Raoult detained in Morocco?

Sébastien Raoult was arrested on May 31 at Rabat-Salé airport while he was the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol at the request of American justice, in a case of cyberpiracy against American companies. notably.

He has been imprisoned since June 2 in Tiflet 2 prison, near Rabat.

Last week, Wednesday to be precise, the Moroccan administration challenged his father's statements about his conditions of detention.

“He's been eating on the floor for two months.

He has been sleeping for two months without a mattress,” Paul Raoult assured the day before at a press conference in Paris.

"The declarations of the father of the detainee in question are untruths", assured a source of the general delegation to the penitentiary administration and reintegration (DGAPR) of Morocco, affirming that he "enjoys like the other detainees with all his rights”.

And to add: “Contrary to what his father claims, he has a bed and shares an eight-bed cell with seven fellow prisoners.

His meals are served on a tray.

»

What is he accused of?

According to

, which revealed the case, the FBI suspects Sébastien Raoult of being a member of a group of hackers: the "ShinyHunters" (reference to the Pokémon universe).

This group is accused of bringing together "prolific cybercriminals", according to US authorities.

Github, owned by Microsoft, was reportedly one of their victims.

The American indictment does indeed report that Github transmitted in March 2022 additional information to the FBI on the attacks of which the platform was the victim, transmitting IP addresses attributed to Sébastien Raoult in France and Morocco.

It is also based on messages relating to these cyberattacks attributed to Sébastien Raoult, alias Sezyo on the networks, on Discord.

The United States is therefore calling for the extradition of Sébastien Raoult for acts of "conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and abuse", "electronic fraud" and "serious identity theft", according to our colleagues from

.

According to his lawyer Me Philippe Ohayon, Sébastien Raoult would risk a sentence of 116 years in prison in the United States for the facts attributed to him.

What does his father want?

"My son was betrayed by France", accuses Paul Raoult who claims that the French government prevents an extradition of his son from Morocco to the United States.

Paul Raoult called on the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti to make an extradition request to the Moroccan authorities so that the young Frenchman can be tried in his country.

"It is, for the moment, Moroccan justice which has been requested by American justice, and we do not have the possibility, at this stage, to intervene", specified Wednesday the minister, on the sidelines of the meeting. a trip to Marseilles.

Eric Dupond-Moretti, however, assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was "obviously mobilized on this issue", in the case of a French national.

What is the opinion of the Court of Cassation of Morocco?

The Court of Cassation of Morocco pronounced on Monday a "favorable opinion" on the extradition of Sébastien Raoult to the United States.

In a decision rendered on July 20, the country's highest court "did not order" the extradition, but said it was "in favor".

Extradition itself can only be decided "by the Prime Minister on the proposal of a commission also bringing together the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice", the same source added.

To justify its decision, the Court of Cassation indicates that the request for extradition was presented by the United States "within the period provided for by law", accompanied by all the necessary documents.

In addition, it specifies that the "crimes" for which it is claimed by the Americans "have their equivalents in the Moroccan Penal Code" and adds that "the extradition request meets all the conditions required by law".

What is the current procedure in France?

A request for mutual criminal assistance was sent by the United States to France last summer about the "ShinyHunters", a source familiar with the matter recently told AFP.

Several arrests and hearings have taken place concerning people suspected of being directly or indirectly involved in this network, without further legal action at this stage.

For Mr. Ohayon, “we exported a turnkey French file which should have been the responsibility of a French examining magistrate”.

The lawyer asked the Epinal prosecution to open a preliminary investigation into the facts attributed to Sébastien Raoult who lived in the Vosges.

“The public prosecutor rejects our request to open a preliminary investigation on the grounds that the territory of the Vosges would have no jurisdiction to deal with this file”, indicated last Tuesday the lawyer.

Our file on cybercrime

The defense of the young Frenchman has since argued that if he hacked foreign companies, he would have done so from French soil and that therefore French justice has jurisdiction.

“The American arrest warrant gives as address the address of Sébastien in Epinal”, assures the lawyer.

The Epinal prosecution confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that it had received new elements from the lawyer, which “will also be studied”.

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