The Case of Gary McKinnon

[Magda Hassan]

He has lost his appeal. He can make a personal plea to the PM. I wonder if they will roll over and have their tummy scratched for their US masters as is usual, or if they will support their citizen?

I might never see him again: Mother of Gary McKinnon pleads for mercy from Obama after hacker loses extradition fight

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:59 PM on 31st July 2009
The mother of computer hacker Gary McKinnon made an impassioned appeal to US president Barack Obama today after her son failed in his latest High Court bid to avoid extradition to America.

The 43-year-old, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome (AS), is wanted for trial on charges of hacking into US military networks.

His mother, Janis Sharp, has expressed fears that he could face a 60-year sentence in a tough US jail and would be at real risk of suicide because of his medical condition. She also fears she would never see him again.

But today Lord Justice Stanley Burnton and Mr Justice Wilkie, sitting in London, dismissed his claim for judicial review.
The Daily Mail has led a high-profile campaign to prevent Mr McKinnon's extradition which has received widespread backing from politicians, celebrities and civil liberties campaigners.



Janis Sharp, with Sting's wife Trudie Styler (left), outside the High Court. She has vowed to take her son's case to the European Court


Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, North London, asked the court to overturn decisions of successive Home Secretaries allowing his extradition to go ahead.
He also challenged a refusal by Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), to put him on trial in the UK on charges of computer misuse. UK trial would allow him to avoid extradition.
Lord Justice Burnton said: 'For the reasons set out in the judgment the claims against the secretary of state and DPP are dismissed.'

• Join the campaign to prevent Gary McKinnon's extradition to the U.S.
  

In a 41-page ruling, the judges said extradition was 'a lawful and proportionate response to his offending'.
Whether or not Mr McKinnon can appeal further will be decided at a later date.
Lord Justice Burnton said it was a matter that should be dealt with 'as expeditiously as possible', probably in September.
Mr McKinnon was not in court today to hear the judgment.

Gary McKinnon, 43, today lost his appeal against extradition to the U.S.

Ms Sharp, said outside court: 'We are heartbroken. If the law says it's fair to destroy someone's life in this way then it's a bad law.'
She added: 'Our hope still lies with the Government. What more evidence do Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson need to understand what extraditing Gary would do to him, let alone us?
'Gary would not survive and I would never see my son again. All to oblige the Americans?
'If Gary's was such a dreadful crime, he should have been prosecuted and sentenced here years ago.
'Instead he's been left tortured by fear for seven years. Compassion can and must now prevail.'
She made an impassioned appeal to Barack Obama to halt attempts to extradite her son.
His lawyers today sent a letter to the U.S. President signed by 40 British MPs asking him to step in and 'bring this shameful episode to an end'.
She said: 'Stand by us and make this world a better place, a more compassionate place.


'Obama wouldn't have this. He doesn't want the first guy extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger's, a UFO guy. He wouldn't want this.
'I'm just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing.
'I know you would have the strength to stand up and not have this.'
Lawyers for Mr McKinnon, who was told the decision yesterday, described him as an 'UFO eccentric' who had been searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life, and described the idea that he was a danger to U.S. national security as 'a complete fantasy'.
Karen Todner, Mr McKinnon's solicitor, said: 'This ruling is hugely disappointing. But we shall not stop here.
'Alan Johnson still has the power to act. We have 28 days to review the judgment and will continue to explore every legal avenue until we achieve a just and proper result.
'The Government promised "ample protection" of individuals' rights, but we have yet to see this in practice.
'Extradition without effective safeguards is a denial of justice for every UK citizen.'


If sent to the U.S., Mr McKinnon is likely to receive a substantial prison sentence of up to 12 years, possibly served in a Supermax prison used for high risk inmates, and is unlikely to be repatriated to serve his sentence.
The U.S. authorities said Mr McKinnon was responsible for the 'biggest military hack of all time' that had been highly damaging and involved 97 government computers belonging to organisations including the U.S. Navy and Nasa.
A large campaign involving family, politicians, civil rights groups, sympathetic media and celebrities has supported the hacker's long battle against extradition.
The National Autistic Society, which has supported him, said it was 'extremely disappointed at the decision'.


Janis Sharp, Gary's mother, says she fears her son will not survive if he is extradited to the U.S. and called on President Obama to intervene

Amanda Batten, the charity's head of policy and campaigns, said outside the High Court: 'We are angry that Gary is still in this position.
'This legal case has been going on for seven years. We are involved in supporting his case because we think that in the light of his Asperger's syndrome that extradition should not go ahead.
'We will continue campaigning and do all we can to support Gary to stay in the UK.'

Mr Johnson's own terror adviser, Lord Carlile, and eminent human rights lawyers have warned against sending him across the Atlantic under a controversial U.S./UK treaty ostensibly introduced to combat terrorism.
The Home Secretary snubbed a plea by Gary's mother for a face-to-face meeting but Mrs Sharp said: 'Mr Johnson can, and must intervene. It's an absolute.
'He's ignoring the best legal advice in the land, even his own adviser on terror is saying "don't send Gary." It just seems ridiculous.'
Support for Gary has poured in after the Daily Mail launched its 'Affront to British Justice' campaign - with tens of thousands of readers petitioning the Home Secretary to use his discretion and intervene - and ministers will be braced for a public backlash if he loses the High Court appeals.
A raft of leading politicians, including Tory leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, along with many high-profile celebrities are backing the fight to stop his extradition on 'cyber-terrorism' charges.
Actress and environmental campaigner Trudie Styler, wife of pop star Sting, who was present in court, said afterwards: 'My heart goes out to Gary, Janis and all those who have fought so hard.
'Reason and common sense dictate that Gary's extradition would be abhorrent.
'We cannot let this be the end of the road. It is quite clear that Gary is a deeply vulnerable man, ill-equipped to cope with the trauma of extradition.
'I am determined to continue to press government to intervene in this blatant travesty of justice.'
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This is very disappointing news. People are right to be extremely concerned about our extradition arrangements.
'This is a case where there is a clear argument for it to be tried in this country, and our system should take health issues into account before considering deportation. I hope lessons will be learned.'
Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: 'This is a profoundly disappointing decision.
'The people who should hang their heads in shame are the members of the Government who negotiated an extradition treaty with the United States which places British citizens in a much weaker position than their American counterparts.
'If this was happening in America there would be a public outcry and Congress would be moving might and main to prevent it.'

Earlier this week analysis by the Liberal Democrats revealed that the odds are stacked overwhelmingly against any British citizen wanted by the Americans for extradition.
Courts in the UK approve 89 per cent of U.S. extradition requests compared to only seven in ten requests by the British authorities that are granted by the Americans.
Under the controversial act the U.S. can demand a Briton's extradition without having to prove any evidence while Britain has to prove its case in a U.S. court.