Internet activist hounded to death by US government
Sunday 13 January 2013
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EmailInternet freedom activist Aaron Swartz killed himself late on Friday having been hounded by US prosecutors for sharing copyrighted material on the internet.
The Reddit website co-founder and RSS protocols coder (pictured) faced up to 30 years in prison for "stealing" millions of files from academic journals from electronic archive Jstor by accessing an MIT university computer.
His family, who announced the news at the weekend, said the death was "the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach.
"Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts US Attorney's office and at MIT contributed to his death."
Mr Swartz was also instrumental in mobilising opposition to Coica in 2010, a precursor to current laws limiting internet freedom.
Tributes poured in to 26-year-old, including from world-wide-web inventor Tim Berners-Lee who said: "Parents all, we have lost a child. Let us weep."
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