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Journalist Burned Alive In India For Facebook Post Exposing Corruption

arnott writes: Journalist Jagendra Singh used a Facebook page to expose corruption in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Though he posted under a pseudonym, he was quickly found and burned alive by police, allegedly on the order of the minister accused. He died a week later from his injuries. This is not the first case of a journalist being attacked in this state. Amnesty International had urged the local government to launch an official investigation, and now five policemen and a politician have been brought up on murder charges. What can Facebook or other companies do to help these journalists report on corruption in a safe manner?

6 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. India is RL "Judge Dredd" by Qbertino · · Score: 5, Informative

    Indias legal excecutive is basically "Judge Dredd" in real-life. Courts are so behind, murder investigations and convictions can take up to 25 years before even starting. The police solve this on their own to maintain order by staging "encounters" for people who've killed more than once. They basically find you, arrest you for something petty they can pin on you and then shoot you for resisting/trying to flee.

    With such factually absolute powers for the police, they're bound to turn corrupt.

    I'd say it's no surprise that in such a system an exposure of police corruption get's you killed mafia style.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  2. Re:Nothing by rhazz · · Score: 5, Informative

    Seems pretty obvious too. Facebook is a social media platform with policies specifically stating they want people to use their real identities. Facebook is not a whistle-blowing platform. Isn't that what wiki-leaks is for?

  3. Re:Wasn't Really Trying to Hide in the First Place by Koreantoast · · Score: 4, Informative

    Should add... if you actually read the article, the "pseudonym" he was posting under was nothing more than the title of "Shahjahanpur (City) News" with his photograph right there on it. He just setup a second Facebook account act as a news feed.

  4. Re:Best case for encryption, ever by dave420 · · Score: 3, Informative

    None of that would have helped this guy. None of it. He put his own photo on his "anonymous" page. I agree with your stance on encryption fully, but this is not a case where it would have mattered a single jot.

  5. Re:Burning people? by Totenglocke · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yes, because women initiating 70% of divorces and being treated beyond favorably by the divorce / family courts aren't well documented facts. When there's a greater than 50% chance that you will get divorced and she'll end up with at least 2/3 of your money / assets, any man who decides to get married is an utter moron.

    --
    "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
  6. Re:The UK doesn't have a 2nd. by Rakarra · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually - yes I am. I watch people avoiding the police. I watch people saying "Yes sir" and "No sir" to the police. I watch people groveling in front of the police.

    I address police in one way, and one way only. I address them as equals. I am a free man. Cop says "Stop!" I say, "What for?"

    Let me guess. You're a white guy.