Six-year sentence for man who blackmailed woman using AI-generated images

BAGHDAD — The Rasafa Criminal Court in Baghdad on Monday sentenced a man to six years in prison for blackmailing a woman using AI-generated images.

The defendant created deepfake photos of the victim with artificial intelligence tools and threatened to publish them on social media if she did not pay him money.

According to a statement from the judiciary’s media office, the court issued the ruling under Article 430/1 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

Article 430/1 provides that any person who threatens another with committing a felony against them or their property, or threatens to reveal dishonorable matters—especially when such threats are accompanied by a demand or coercion to act or refrain from acting—is punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years.

In early April, police in Baghdad Al-Rusafa arrested a man accused of blackmailing a woman online by threatening to publish her private photos on social media unless she paid him a sum of money. The arrest followed a report filed by the victim, who told police she was being blackmailed by someone she knew.