McKinnon, 43, from North London, was accused and charged in 2002 of hacking into 97 American military and NASA computers, causing the US government hundreds of thousands of dollars, and was said to be the "Biggest military hack of all time."
McKinnon, who has been described as "vunerable" and "misguided" was not a terrorist, nor did he mean any harm, he was simply obsessed with UFO's and was trying to prove there was indeed extra terrestrial lifeout there, and that the CIA were trying to cover it up.
Gary has never denied the crimes he has committed; he even left messages on the US military computers, from his own email address, telling them that "Their security is crap." So it is not an issue of his guilt, it’s an issue of basic human rights. Gary McKinnon has Asperger's syndrome and is now said to be at serious risk of suicide after the home sectary refuses to prevent his extradition.
The high court, who has already dismissed two claims for judicial review, has now made their decision, after heavy influence from the US, to extradite McKinnon to the US, a country he has never stepped foot into, to face up to 60 years in a "super-max" prison, a sentence, and a prison that is more likely to be associated with terrorists and probably a prison that is not that dissimilar form Guantanamo Bay.
I am finding this very hard to believe that no one is intervening here, I feel once again let down by our justice system and government. Not during the time leading up to the war on Iraq, nor now, does anyone dare to stand up to America. I thought perhaps that some lessons may have been learnt after the backlash of our then prime minister, Tony Blair, and George Bush, declaring their allinence together on the war on Iraq, and the criticism that followed.
England was seen as weak, and just following America's lead instead of making our own decisions and having some backbone. Well unfortunately it seems there were no lessons learnt. McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp has said, "This government is terrified of speaking up to America, and now they are allowing vulnerable people to be pursued for non-violent crime when they should be going after terrorists."
Once again Alan Johnson's, name is in the headlines for making a somewhat questionable decision that will make 43 year old Gary McKinnon's death "virtually certain" has stated by his lawyers. There has been medical evidence that McKinnon's condition has deteriorated dramatically and extraditing him is violation his right to live and his lawyers genuinely do believe that a mans life is at stake.
Is it right to send a man who suffers Aspreger's syndrome and depressive illnesses to a "super-max" jail? The simple answer is no, because it would undoubtedly cause him mental harm and that is a breach of his human rights.
Geoffrey Robertson QC, one of Britain's most eminent human rights lawyers, told the Guardian:
"To send a British citizen to the US, without any right to bail, to face 10 years in prison for a crime for which he would be unlikely to receive any custodial sentence if tried here amounts to 'cruel and unusual' punishment' in breach of our 1689 Bill of Rights. The home secretary should not hide behind the weasel words of the European Convention when he should be following the law laid down by our own historic bill of rights."
Is anyone else worried that these breaches in the US military and Pentagon security systems was done by a 43 year old man, on his own, sat at his computer in his North London flat? Isn't the USA one of the richest countries in the world? And one lone IT worker from London was able to hack into Pentagon, US Navy, US military and NASA computer systems, oh the embarrassment they must be feeling. Is that why they are set out to "fry" him or could it be something more sinister? A cover-up maybe? Maybe they're worried about what information Gary stumbled across. It has been reported that he had tried to download a grainy picture of what looked to be a UFO, which would back up his allegations of a CIA cover-up, but I'm sure there's a lot more secret info on there for them to be worried about.
McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp has said:
"I will not give up this fight until the government intervenes to protect my vulnerable son. When considering the extradition of Abu Hamza, the then home secretary said 'Had we evidence in this country of a crime committed here then of course the police and the attorney general would have taken action'. Well, if that's the approach for a convicted terrorist, why not for a gentle, misguided Asperger's sufferer like Gary?"
Janis Sharp, has rightly felt let down, by the judicial system, by our government, and by the US government, and has said:
"We thought with Obama it would be different. Now the first person in the world to be extradited to the US for computer misuse is going to be a guy with Asperger's."
I hope that it is not too late for Gary and his mother to change the outcome of his life, or sadly his death.
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