News / Human Rights

Barrett Brown sentenced to 63 months for 'merely linking to hacked material'

Friday, 23 January 2015 9:45 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 23 January 2015 9:45 AM ]

US journalist Barrett Brown

A journalist in the United States with connections to the hacking group Anonymous has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after posting online links to stolen data.

Barrett Brown was sentenced to 63 months in prison by a federal judge in Dallas on Thursday, despite protests from human rights activists.

Activists were expecting that the journalist would be able to walk free with his 31 months of time served for what they call was “merely linking to hacked material”.

But the judge not only sentenced him to 63 months in prison, but he also ordered him to pay more than $890,000 in restitution and fines.

Brown originally faced charges punishable by more than 100 years in jail. But the sentence was reduced after he pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

The 33-year-old has said that he broke the law to reveal details of illegal government activity. The case has drawn criticism from advocates of free speech and media rights organizations.

Brown became an advocate for Anonymous and was often interviewed about the group. He was arrested after posting a link to data hacked from an American defense intelligence firm called Stratfor, which is thought to be associated with the CIA.

Kevin Gallagher, the director of the Free Barrett Brown campaign, told The Guardian that he was “shocked and disappointed” after hearing the sentence.

Gallagher warned that the sentence would set a precedent for journalists. “Basically, if you share a link to publicly available material without knowing what’s in it – maybe it could contain stolen credit card info – you could be prosecuted.”

“Any journalist that uses hackers as sources is extremely chilled by this,” Gallagher added.

GJH/GJH

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir