The Haifa District Court sentenced Dimitri Cohen, 28, of Haifa, to 8.5 years in prison after he was convicted of contact with a foreign agent and seven counts of attempting to pass information that could aid the enemy, according to reporter Or Ravid. Cohen carried out a series of tasks for a handler who posed as a private investigator but, according to the conviction, actually acted on behalf of Iran. The court noted Cohen suspected the hostile connection early on but continued, driven by financial motives.
The Haifa District Court on Monday sentenced Dimitri Cohen, 28, of Haifa, to eight and a half years in prison for espionage activity on behalf of Iran. Cohen was convicted of maintaining contact with a foreign agent and seven counts of attempting to pass information that could aid the enemy, following an investigation that revealed he carried out a series of tasks for a handler who presented himself as a private investigator but, according to the conviction, acted on behalf of Iranian intelligence.
The sentencing judges wrote that Cohen suspected early on that the handler was a hostile entity, yet chose to continue his activities despite multiple warning signs — including foreign telephone numbers, unusual payments, and warnings from his own surroundings. The court found that Cohen "closed his eyes" to the suspicion that he was working for an Iranian agent. It noted that while the defendant had no prior criminal record and acted out of financial distress, and expressed remorse, the severity of the offenses and the frequency of Iranian recruitment attempts during wartime necessitated a deterrent sentence.
As The Zioneer has previously reported, Israeli courts have delivered multiple sentences in recent weeks in a wave of espionage cases linked to Iranian intelligence operations during the ongoing war. The sentencing of Cohen adds to the pattern of Israeli civilians recruited via online or personal intermediaries to collect sensitive security information for hostile actors.
Source and signal
- Internal intake