French student jailed in Morocco for suspected cybercrimes

French student, Sebastien Raoult has been jailed for two months in Morocco on suspicion by the FBI of committing cybercrimes against US companies, according to officials, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Raoult, 21, who also goes by the name of Sezyo, is a computer science student from Alsace and faces 116 years behind bars if he is found guilty.

He was detained by Moroccan authorities in early June, according to French news outlet, BFM TV.

When an Interpol Red Notice for a cyber-piracy case was issued in May, authorities initially detained Raoult on 31 May at the Rabat-Sale Airport. He has since been held near Rabat.

Interpol, or the International Criminal Police Organisation, issues red notices for crimes in member countries, asking authorities in those nations to detain suspects with possible legal action, or other steps to follow.

READ: Iran acknowledges arrest of Swedish citizen suspected of espionage

Raoult’s father and lawyer, Philippe Ohayon, claim that he is a victim of identity theft and has appealed to Prime Minister, Elisabeth Bourne, to intervene.

The computer science student is said to belong to the ShinyHunters hacking group that is accused by the FBI to have hacked into large American companies, including Microsoft. Electronic fraud and identity theft allegations are among the charges.

US authorities are seeking Raoult’s extradition to stand trial but his legal team is seeking his extradition to France because he has “only been in France and Morocco”.