The Moroccan Court of Cassation has delivered a "favorable opinion" on the extradition to the United States of Frenchman Sébastien Raoult, accused of cybercrime targeting in particular American companies, but he can still hope to obtain his surrender to France.

In a decision rendered on July 20, the highest court in the country "did not order" the extradition of the 21-year-old Frenchman, imprisoned for two months in Morocco, but said it was "favorable", explained Monday to AFP a Moroccan source close to the file.

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", added the same source.

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 the Frenchman 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".

This decision "strengthens us in our determination to obtain the extradition to France of Sébastien Raoult", reacted to AFP his lawyer, Me Philippe Ohayon, who reiterated his request for the opening of a judicial investigation in France, accompanied by a French arrest warrant to obtain the extradition of her client to France.

Punishable by 116 years in prison

Sébastien Raoult has been incarcerated since June 2 in Tiflet 2 prison, near Rabat.

He is liable to a sentence of 116 years in prison in the United States, according to Me Ohayon.

The American authorities are calling for the extradition of this 21-year-old student from Épinal for his alleged involvement in a cybercrime case targeting companies, Americans in particular.

According to the American indictment of June 10 transmitted to Morocco and consulted by AFP, the justice of the State of Washington accuses in particular Sébastien Raoult of "conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and abuse", "electronic fraud" and "serious identity theft".

American justice suspects him of being a member of the "ShinyHunters" - reference to the Pokémon universe - accused of being "prolific cybercriminals" since "at least 2019" by the American authorities, and who would have targeted GitHub in particular, property of Microsoft.

The US indictment reports that GitHub transmitted additional information to the FBI in March 2022 about the attacks on the platform, 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.

His defense thus argues that if he hacked foreign companies, he would have done so from French soil and that, therefore, French justice has jurisdiction.

Sébastien Raoult was "sacrificed", according to his lawyer

But on August 3, the French Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, said he did not have “the possibility, at this stage, of intervening”.

"We believe that Sébastien Raoult was not simply abandoned by France, but that he was sacrificed", continued Me Ohayon, who requests the seizure of the General Inspectorate of Justice (IGJ) to understand why, "duly informed of criminal acts committed from the national territory, the French authorities have not opened a preliminary investigation".

The case arouses a lot of emotion in France where Sébastien Raoult's father recently appealed to President Emmanuel Macron to help him.

This opinion of the Moroccan justice "means that there is little time left for France to officially regain control of a file that it has been subcontracting for years to the Americans", reacted Paul Raoult, joined by AFP .

"That doesn't mean 'it's over, he's leaving in a week' but time is running out, France really needs to move: it can't let a French national down," a- he added.

With AFP

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