France says it arrested an individual suspected of running XSS, a major cybercrime forum
The authorities suspect this person, who was arrested the day before in Kyiv, of being the forum's central administrator, under the pseudonym "toha." "Investigators believe he has been active in the cybercrime ecosystem for nearly two decades," said Europol, which supported the operation, in a statement. Toha has been running the forum since 2018, when he relaunched the discussion space after the previous administrator, known under the pseudonym "Ar3s," was arrested in Belarus.
The suspect was arrested in Ukraine the day before, apprehended by local authorities acting "in the presence of French police" and with the support of Europol, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office. An initial investigation on the matter was opened in July 2021 and was assigned to the Paris police prefecture's Counter-Cybercrime Brigade (BL2C). Later, "a judicial investigation was opened on November 9, 2021, on charges of complicity in attacks on automated data processing systems, extortion by an organized group and criminal conspiracy," the prosecutor's office said.
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Local France
4 hours ago
- Local France
Violent videos draw more French teens into 'terror' plots, say prosecutors
French prosecutors are alarmed at an increasing number of young teenage boys seemingly plotting "terror" attacks, and say they all share an addiction to violent videos online. As communities worldwide worry about boys being exposed to toxic and misogynistic influences on social media, French magistrates say they are looking into what draws young teens into "terrorism". "Just a few years ago, there were just a handful of minors charged with terror offences," France's National Anti-Terror Prosecutor's Office ( Parquet national anti-terroriste , PNAT) said. "But we had 15 in 2013, 18 in 2024 and we already had 11 by July 1st" this year. They are aged 13 to 18 and hail from all over France, the PNAT said. Lawyers and magistrates told AFP these teens are usually boys with no delinquent past, many of whom are introverts or have had family trouble. The PNAT opened a special branch in May to better examine the profiles of minors drawn into "terrorism", but it said it has already noticed they are all "great users of social media". Advertisement "Most are fans of ultra-violent, war or pornographic content," it said. In France, "terrorism" is largely synonymous with extremist Islamist ideas such as those of the Islamic State jihadist group. Only in recent months has the PNAT taken on cases different in nature -- one an adult suspected of a racist far-right killing, and the other an 18-year-old charged with developing a misogynist plot to kill women. A 14-year-old schoolboy who stabbed to death a teaching assistant in June was a fan of "violent video games", although his case was not deemed "terrorist" in nature. 'Proving themselves as men' In the case of France's youngest "terror" suspects, a judicial source told AFP, social media provides them with a flow of violent videos that are "not necessarily linked to terrorism", such as from Latin American cartels. "They think they're proving themselves as men by watching them," the source said. Sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar said the teens were "neither children nor adults". This "leads them to violence in order to be recognised as adults -- even if it's a negative adult," he said. Laurene Renaut, a researcher looking into jihadist circles online, said social media algorithms could suck adolescents in fast. "In less than three hours on TikTok, you can find yourself in an algorithm bubble dedicated to the Islamic State group", she said. You can be bathing in "war chants, decapitations, AI reconstructions of glorious (according to IS) past actions or even simulations of actions to come," she said. The algorithms feed users "melancholic" content to boost their "feeling of loneliness, with ravaged landscapes, supposed to reflect the soul," she said. 'Injustice' One such teenager said he was motivated by a sense of "injustice" after seeing a video online of an attack on a mosque in New Zealand. White supremacist Brenton Tarrant went on a rampage, killing 51 worshippers at mosques around Christchurch in March 2019 in the country's deadliest modern-day mass shooting. The French suspect was convicted last year for planning "terror" attacks on far-right bars. He told investigators it started when he was 13 and playing Minecraft, a video game, on the gamer social media platform Discord. Advertisement "Someone sent Tarrant's video," he said. "I thought it was unjust to see the men, women and children be massacred." "I then watched the videos of imams telling people to stay calm and those of terrorists from the far right, and I thought it was unjust," he added. "Then I saw those of jihadists urging help," he said. "I thought that by defending this cause, my life would make sense." A French appeals court in July 2024 sentenced him to four years in jail, including two suspended, after he contacted an undercover agent to find out about weapons. The court justified the sentence with the "gravity" of his planned actions, but noted he lacked signs of "deeply rooted ideological radicalisation". Rather, it said, the defendant was the child of fighting parents from a very violent neighbourhood, who had been "significantly deprived of affection" and had sought to "fit in" with internet users. His lawyer Jean-Baptiste Riolacci told AFP he was an "essentially lonely, sad and good kid, whose only occupation beyond his computer was gliding around on his scooter". 'Guesswork' The judicial source, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the French system favoured early intervention through charging youth for associating with "terrorist" criminals, and then adapting their punishment according to the severity of the accusations. Advertisement But attorney Pierre-Henri Baert, who defended another teenager, said the system did not work. His client was handed three years behind bars in May for sharing an IS propaganda post calling for attacks against Jewish people as a 16-year-old. "It's a very harsh sentence considering his very young age, the fact he had no (criminal) record, and was really in the end just accused of statements online," he said. Another lawyer, who worked on similar cases but asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, agreed. "When the judiciary goes after people for terrorist criminal association, it's basically doing guesswork," she said, adding that the "terrorist" label could be very stigmatising. "There's no differentiation between a kid who sent aggressive messages and a suspect who actually bought weapons," she added. 'Fantasising about jihadism' Two judicial sources said teens prosecuted for alleged "terrorism" are usually only spotted through their behaviour on social media. They are then charged over other actions, such as moving to an encrypted messaging app, sharing recipes to make explosives or looking for funding, the sources said. A Paris court will in September try three teenagers who, aged 14 and 15, allegedly planned to blow up a truck outside the Israeli embassy in Belgium. They had been spotted at high school for their "radical remarks", but were then found in a park with "bottles of hydrochloric acid" containing "aluminium foil", a homemade type of explosive, the PNAT said. Advertisement Their telephones showed they had watched videos of massacres. Jennifer Cambla, a lawyer who represents one of the defendants, said accusations against her client were disproportionate. "My client may have had the behaviour of a radicalised person by consulting jihadist websites, which is forbidden. But he is far from having plotted an attack," she said. But another lawyer, speaking anonymously, said arresting teenagers "fantasising about jihadism" could be an opportunity to turn their lives around -- even if it involved "a monstrous shock". "The arrests are tough," with specialised forces in ski masks pulling sacks over the suspect's head, they said. But "as minors, they are followed closely, they see therapists. They are not allowed on social media, and they do sport again," the lawyer said. One of the judicial sources warned that it was not clear that this worked. It "makes it look like they are being rapidly deradicalised, but we do not know if these youth could again be drawn in by extremist ideas," they said.
LeMonde
9 hours ago
- LeMonde
Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating ceasefire, Phnom Penh denies any firing
Thailand's army accused Cambodia on Tuesday, July 29, of violating an hours-old truce, saying clashes continued despite a deal meant to end the bloody fighting that engulfed their jungle-clad frontier. Following peace talks in Malaysia on Monday, both sides agreed an unconditional ceasefire would start at midnight to end fighting over a smattering of ancient temples in disputed zones along their 800-kilometer border. "At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory," said Thai army spokesman Winthai Suwaree. "This constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement and a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust," he added in a statement. "Thailand is compelled to respond appropriately, exercising its legitimate right to self-defense." Cambodia's defense ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata insisted there had been "no armed clashes against each other in any regions". However, both sides said morning meetings scheduled between opposing regional commanders along the border as part of the truce pact had either begun or were still scheduled to start. "I saw photos of the two leaders shaking hands," said 32-year-old pharmacy worker Kittisak Sukwilai in the Thai city of Surin – 50 kilometers from the border. "I just hope it's not just a photo op with fake smiles – and that those hands aren't actually preparing to stab each other in the back." In Cambodia's Samraong city – 20 kilometers from the frontier –an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist said the sound of blasts stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight, with the lull continuing until mid-morning. "The frontline has eased since the ceasefire at 12 midnight," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Tuesday morning message on Facebook. 'Good faith' Jets, rockets and artillery have killed at least 38 people since last Thursday and displaced nearly 300,000 more – prompting intervention from US President Donald Trump over the weekend. The flare-up was the deadliest since violence raged sporadically from 2008-2011 over the territory, claimed by both because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907. A joint statement from both countries – and Malaysia, which hosted the peace talks – said the ceasefire was "a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security". A spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement Monday evening that "he urges both countries to respect the agreement fully and to create an environment conducive to addressing long-standing issues and achieving lasting peace". Both sides are courting Trump for trade deals to avert his threat of eye-watering tariffs, and the US State Department said its officials had been "on the ground" to shepherd peace talks. The joint statement said China also had "active participation" in the talks, hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN bloc chair Anwar Ibrahim in his country's administrative capital Putrajaya. Manet thanked Trump for his "decisive" support, while his counterpart, Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said it should be "carried out in good faith by both sides". Post-truce tariff deals Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn marked his 73rd birthday on Monday, but a notice in the country's Royal Gazette said public celebrations scheduled for Bangkok's Grand Palace had been canceled amid the strife. Each side had already agreed to a truce in principle, while accusing the other of undermining peace efforts and trading allegations about the use of cluster bombs and targeting of hospitals. Thailand says 11 of its soldiers and 14 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed only eight civilian and five military deaths. More than 138,000 people have fled Thailand's border regions, while around 140,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.
LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
French prosecutors seek new Assad arrest warrant
French prosecutors said Monday, July 28, they have requested a new arrest warrant against Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad over a deadly 2013 chemical attack after a previous one was cancelled. It is now up to investigating magistrates to decide whether to issue the new warrant. French investigators have since 2021 been looking into a suspected Syrian government sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4-5, 2013, in the areas of Adra and Douma outside Damascus. The Court of Cassation, France's highest court, on Friday ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, annulling a French warrant against Assad issued in 2023 when he was still leader. It however added that, as Assad, who was toppled in December, was no longer president, new warrants could be issued and the French investigation could continue. The National Anti-Terror Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said they on Friday requested "the issuing and international dissemination of an arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes" in the chemical attack case. Assad and his family fled to Russia, according to Russian authorities, after Islamist-led fighters seized power on December 8. Another French warrant is already out for Assad's arrest, issued in January for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian.
