A Haifa District Court on Monday sentenced 28-year-old Dmitry Cohen of Haifa to eight and a half years in prison after convicting him of maintaining contact with a foreign agent and attempting to pass information that could aid an enemy during Israel’s war against Iran and its proxies.

According to the indictment, Cohen was recruited online in 2025 by an individual identifying himself as “David,” who claimed to operate a private investigations firm. In exchange for $500 per assignment, paid in cryptocurrency, Cohen carried out surveillance and photography missions across Israel, including strategic infrastructure, major roadways, power facilities, and ports.

Prosecutors said Cohen was instructed to purchase a dedicated phone and SIM card to communicate with the handler, who used foreign phone numbers and spoke Russian with a heavy accent. Initially tasked with photographing civilian locations, Cohen later documented highways, electrical infrastructure, the Hadera power station, Haifa Bay, Eilat Port, and other sensitive sites.

The court found that Cohen suspected from an early stage that he was working for an Iranian-linked operative and that the warning signs only grew stronger as the assignments became increasingly security-related. Judges ruled that he “turned a blind eye” to numerous red flags, including unusual payments, foreign contact numbers, warnings from friends and his fiancé, and the inability to verify the existence of the supposed investigations company.

Although Cohen edited some of the footage and removed images of military bases after realizing their sensitivity, the court determined that the information he provided could still have benefited hostile actors and posed a significant intelligence threat.

In sentencing, the judges stressed the need for harsher punishment amid the ongoing conflict with Iran and cited a growing trend of Israeli citizens being recruited online by hostile foreign elements. The court noted Cohen’s lack of a prior criminal record, his expression of remorse, and the fact that he ultimately refused one assignment near Eilat Port after recognizing its seriousness. His sentence will be counted from the date of his arrest on May 27, 2025. He was also given a suspended three-year prison term.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)