Share
Gary McKinnon, a 44-year-old system analyst from Glasgow accused of hacking various U.S. Government and military computers, has this week lodged a House of Lords appeal against approved extradition to the United States.
UK computer hacker fights US extradition on the grounds of intimidation. Image: GoogleEarth.
McKinnon’s appeal against extradition to the US has been made to a panel of five influential law lords on the grounds of abuse of process. According to McKinnon’s claim, US prosecutors used coercion and intimidation tactics in order to secure his cooperation.
A self-taught member of the hacker community known only as “Solo,” McKinnon is accused of committing the “biggest military computer hack of all time” by breaking into almost 100 different computer systems belonging to NASA, the Pentagon and various other organisations that fall beneath the watchful eye of the U.S. military.
Although McKinnon has admitted to the 2001 probing attacks, which left nearly $1 million USD’s worth of damage in their wake, he maintains that he was only attempting to gain access in order to uncover definitive information relating to UFO sightings and human/alien contact.
In terms of the apparent intimidation McKinnon was subjected to by US prosecutors following his arrest, David Pannick QC relayed to the panel that his client was threatened with a much stiffer punishment if he chose not to plead guilty and face extradition for his crimes.
“The US prosecutors sought to impose pressure on the appellant through his legal advisers to consent to extradition and plead guilty,” said Pannick.
While the exact nature of that heavier sentence was not expanded upon by McKinnon’s legal representative, he did allude to a potential death sentence when citing a US embassy official involved in the case who had previously quoted New Jersey prosecutors as saying they wanted to see McKinnon “fry” for his attacks.
Claiming “pressure of an unreasonable degree,” Pannick went on to say that McKinnon was told cooperation would see him handed a jail sentence of between 37 and 46 months, with a likelihood of parole and repatriation to the UK after serving around half that time; whereas his refusal to cooperate and instead resist extradition would lead to a potential terrorist link through the case and as much as 60 years behind bars without the possibility of repatriation.
A judgement in the matter is expected to be returned by the House of Lords panel in three to four weeks.
Interested in a more interactive TTH? Join our Facebook Group Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter
Advertising
Comment on this Story