Man jailed for not sharing Facebook password
London, Sep 1 : A British man suspected in the murder of a school girl has been sent to jail for refusing to share his Facebook password with police investigating her death, the media reported.
Stephen Nicholson was jailed for refusing to share his Facebook password with police, which they claimed obstructed their investigation into the stabbing of 13-year-old Lucy McHugh on July 26 this year, the Independent reported, late on Friday.
The police hoped to read through his private messages to see if he had sent any messages to the girl before her murder.
Nicholson, who pleaded guilty to the charge under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), argued that giving police access to his private Facebook messages could expose information relating to cannabis.
However, the judge described this excuse as "wholly inadequate", considering the severity of the case and ordered a 14 month jail term.
Under the RIPA, police investigating a crime has the power to compel people to disclose a password used to access a phone, computer or any service accessed through an electronic device.
Refusing to comply with RIPA, intended as an anti-terror measure, can result in a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment, or five years in cases involving national security or child indecency.
"The police are able to request disclosure if the reason is to prevent or detect crime, if it's in the interests of national security or the economic well-being of the UK," Saunders Law, a London-based law firm, stated on its website.
However, the criminals may be wiser to not disclose a password and plead guilty to the RIPA offence, rather than face significantly more severe charges brought on by whatever the password-protected data reveals, the firm pointed out.
Thus, "there could be a completely disproportionate result if someone is imprisoned for not providing a password but not the crime they are originally under investigation for, of which they might be innocent", the firm stated.
A decision on whether to charge Nicholson with further offences is expected on October 27, the report stated.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
