Privateers

[DireWolf2K]

First of all, hello!
I've been a FL player for about six years now, but I've only just started to play Discovery online. I'm quite impressed by what I have seen so far, and hope to become a part of the community (and sorry for also making this into a "Hello World" thread).

However, I had a bit of an unpleasant run-in with a privateer, and am left with a few questions about what constitutes their jurisdiction.

I was in the Leeds System, on my way to Newcastle. I was about to jump when I noticed that a ship had followed me through the trade lane, IFF'd BAF Guard. He demanded me to stop, and I complied. He told me that I had to pay 3 million credits, or die. My cargo hold was completely filled with nanocapicitors (which in my knowledge are completely legal). I asked him on what grounds he had to stop me, and he said it was because he was a privateer. I read his ID, and saw that he could tax ships allied with Bretonian unlawful factions. I have a freelancer ID, and am in the positives with the BAF and Bretonian police, yet I was in the red for the BAF Guard (and for that matter, all the other Guard factions. Still not quite sure why we start this way). I privately messaged the privateer OORP that I wasn't sure if I was a valid target, but he just referred me back to his ID and told me I had 3 seconds to comply. I told him IRP that he could take this up with the military, and jumped into Newcastle. I ran to Scarborough station, docked, and sold my cargo. I undocked about a minute later to find the privateer waiting for me, where he killed me.

Looking back on it, the decisions I made weren't the best, but I'd still like to know the privateer was justified in his attack. Thanks in advance.