On May 31, 2022, the Vosgien Sébastien Raoult was arrested in Morocco. Filed by Interpol, he was about to return from a trip when he was apprehended at Rabat-Salé airport. Former computer science student, originally from Épinal, he is accused of cybercrime by US authorities. He spent eight months in detention in Morocco, before being extradited to the United States on January 25, 2023, where he is still incarcerated.
With two other French nationals, they are accused of forming a group of hackers, named the “ShinyHunters”. The three young men are suspected of having hacked the sites of several large companiessome of which are American, such as Microsoft, the clothing brand Bonobos or the telephone operator AT&T. He faces nine charges.in particular for criminal association, computer fraud and identity theft.
A year later, France Bleu Sud Lorraine returns to the case
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His relatives demand a trial in France
When Sébastien Raoult was arrested in Morocco last year, his father, Paul, does not understand, he is in shock. “It’s a mix of thoughts, emotions and feelings that range from misunderstanding to worry”, he confides. Accused of cybercrime, the young man will spend eight months in detention In the conditions “pretty terrible”in his own words. “There are eight of them per cell, sometimes eleven, sleeping on the floor, with no privacy.confirms his father. He can’t go out, has to eat off the floor and can only wash at the tap, it’s been a very difficult eight months.”.
At the beginning of the year, the young Vosgien is extradited to the United States. Since then, his relatives have never stopped fighting, they are increasing their appeals to the courts and the government. “The priority objective from the start has been to ensure that this case is tried in France. It was played out on national territory, for us it must be tried in the same place”insists Guy Monsuy, member of the “Sébastien Raoult Support Committee”.
“We were abandoned by the French authorities”
Sébastien’s family deplores the inaction of the French authorities. “The French government and justice are not intervening to bring Sébastien back to France. Nothing is happening, no action, it’s complete silence. From the start, we have been abandoned by the French authorities”, laments his father, Paul. Sébastien Raoult’s lawyer has also filed a complaint against X in France this Tuesday, May 30. He estimates that his personal freedoms have been violated for the benefit of a foreign power.
“He keeps a very good mind and his sense of humor”
For now, Sébastien is still incarcerated in the United States, where he faces up to 116 years in prison. “We are worried, he has no possibility at all of defending himself in a fair and equitable way there”, regrets Guy Monsuy. In a recent telephone interview with AFP, Sébastien Raoult said he still hoped for a “return to France” to be judged there. “I hope it will end soon, it’s starting to get long”he said from the Sea Tac federal detention center near Seattle.
After a year of detention, the young Vosgien “keep your head up”reassures his father, Paul who is in regular contact with him. “We often hear from him by phone or by email. He is equal to himself, as he always has been, he keeps a very good mind and his sense of humor, he prefers to see the glass at half full, rather than half empty”, he says. Sébastien Raoult pleaded “not guilty” and is due to stand trial in the United States on January 16, 2024.
2023-05-31 14:28:55
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