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

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.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/01/23/394400/US-journalist-gets-five-years-in-prison

No word yet on whether or not there will be an investigation into the alleged illegal government activity.