Hacker found guilty of "terror and intimidation" against Palestine activists

A French court has confirmed the conviction of a Jewish extremist for hacking the computers of Palestine solidarity activists.

CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, the group targeted by the hacker, said that the court of appeal in Paris last week sentenced “Jonathan B.” to eight months in prison with suspension and $26,000 in damages and fines.

The perpetrator, who has been previously named as Jonathan Bouaziz, is a member of the Brigade Juive, or Jewish Brigade, a pro-Israel extremist group.

In April 2016, Bouaziz hacked into the computers of two activists, Olivia Zémor and Nicolas Shahshahani, and stole their data and mailing lists.

The following June, many Palestine solidarity activists received death threats signed by Brigade Juive, threatening to “scalp you one by one.”

In 2017, a criminal court in Paris convicted Bouaziz for the hacking.

That court fined him and sentenced him to six months of confinement that would be served via electronic monitoring.

“Terror and intimidation”

The trial court ruled that the crimes committed by Bouaziz amounted to “a direct and determined attack on freedom of opinion by terror and intimidation against those who did not share his opinion,” according to the publication Le Courrier de l’Atlas.

CAPJPO-EuroPalestine says a suspected accomplice of Bouaziz escaped French justice by absconding to Israel.

Israel generally refuses to extradite Jewish suspects and thus serves as a refuge for several fugitives.

One of the most high profile is Grégory Chelli, also known as Ulcan.

Chelli is a pro-Israel extremist who is facing trial in France in connection with the death of the father of a journalist who published reports critical of Chelli’s hacking attacks on Palestine solidarity groups.