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A police spokesman confirmed that a 39-year-old Israeli had been
detained, but citing a court-issued gag order declined to name
him or his alleged victims.
In December, unfinished tracks were leaked from Madonna's "Rebel
Heart" album before its release, an act the singer described as
"artistic rape" in a post, later deleted, from her Instagram
account.
A private Israeli investigator, Asher Wizman, said Madonna's
team had contacted his company several weeks ago to look into
the matter after rumors of an Israeli connection to the leak.
Madonna, a devotee of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, has visited
Israel several times and kicked off a 2012 world tour in Tel
Aviv.
"Our investigator found her computers, at home and at a studio,
were broken into from a computer in Israel," Wizman told
Reuters. "We tracked down the computer, and the man behind it.
After gathering enough evidence, we turned to the police and he
was arrested today."
Police said its cyber unit had carried out an investigation
along with the FBI following a complaint from a Madonna
representative in Israel.
Israeli media said the man taken into custody was a former
contestant on a popular television singing contest in Israel.
"He is suspected of computer hacking, copyright violation and
fraudulent receipt of goods," a police spokesman said.
"During the investigation it appeared the suspect had broken
into the computers of a number of international artists, stole
unreleased demos and final tracks and sold them over the
internet," the spokesman said.
No charges have yet been filed against him.
(Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Crispian Balmer)
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Israeli
arrested in Madonna song leak probe: police source
