Haifa man sentenced to over eight years in prison for providing information to foreign agent

Dimitri Cohen, a 28-year-old resident of Haifa, received an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence on Monday after being convicted of espionage-related offenses. The Haifa District Court found Cohen guilty of having contact with a foreign agent and seven counts of attempting to provide information that could benefit Iran and its terrorist proxies during wartime.

Cohen was arrested in May of the previous year following a joint operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Police's Coastal District. He had been carrying out tasks for an individual who posed as a private investigator named "David." According to the indictment, Cohen sought work online in the spring of 2025 and was offered approximately $500 per task in cryptocurrency.

"David" claimed to run a private investigation firm called "Jupiter" specializing in infidelity cases. Cohen was instructed to conduct surveillance, initially in Tirat Carmel, and was also provided with an "operational" phone and SIM card. The foreign agent communicated in Russian with a distinct accent and used phone numbers with Russian and Portuguese area codes.

The court noted that Cohen's tasks expanded to photographing private homes, the Baha'i Gardens, and Haifa Bay. He was later directed to photograph sections of major roads, including coastal routes and highways, as well as the Hadera power plant and ships in the Bay of Eilat. While Cohen did edit some videos to remove documentation of military bases, the court determined that the information and photographs he provided posed a significant intelligence threat.

Judges Erez Porat, Nitzan Silman, and Rivka Eisenberg ruled that Cohen "turned a blind eye" to numerous warning signs. They concluded that from the outset of his engagement with "David," Cohen suspected the agent was working for Iran, and this suspicion intensified as the missions became more security-related. Despite these suspicions, Cohen continued to provide information that could have aided the enemy.