Madonna ‘grateful’ following arrest of Tel Aviv man

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ADONNA is “profoundly grateful” upon hearing the news a man suspected of leaking her forthcoming new album has been arrested. Left furious in December when tracks from new LP ‘Rebel Heart’ appeared online, Madonna has now seen a 39-year-old Israeli arrested in Tel Aviv by the Lahav 433 crime-fighting agency, for “breaking into” her computer.
Writing on Facebook, Madonna said following the arrest: “I am profoundly grateful to the FBI, the Israeli Police investigators and anyone else who helped lead to the arrest of this hacker. I deeply appreciate my fans who have provided us with pertinent information and continue to do so regarding leaks of my music. Like any citizen, I have the right to privacy.
“This invasion into my life — creatively, professionally, and personally remains a deeply devastating and hurtful experience, as it must be for all artists who are victims of this type of crime.”
It turns out that Madonna isn’t the only star targetted by the hacker.
Lahav 433 said in a statement: “[The suspect] broke into the personal computers of several international artists over the past few months and stole promotional final-cut singles which have yet to be released and traded them online for a fee…
“In light of the findings of the investigation, the unit collaborated closely with the FBI, with suspicion of even more break-ins to computers owned by unknown international artists, stealing and selling their works.”
Madonna had controversially called the leak “artistic rape” in an online rant shortly after the hack.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, the singer typed: “This is artistic rape!! These are early leaked demo’s half of which wont even make it on my album the other half have changed and evolved. This is a form of terrorism. Wtf!!!! Why do people want to destroy artistic process??? Why steal? Why not give me the opportunity to finish and give you my very best? (sic)”.