McKinnon hacked into US military and NASA computers in 2001 and
2002 and admitted to the incident when arrested in November 2002.
He was told by UK prosecutors that he faced community service, but
US prosecutors sought his extradition.
Prosecutors in the US have said they believe McKinnon could be
jailed for 70 years, could face a military and not a civil court
and could even be interred at Guantanemo Bay.
McKinnon does not deny that he hacked into computers, but says
he was only able to gain access because of lax security in the
systems, which he says were using default passwords. He was using
an ordinary computer and a dial-up internet connection and says he
has only very rudimentary hacking skills.
Lawyers for McKinnon argued in the appeal hearing against his
extradition that he would not receive fair treatment in the US
because of earlier plea bargaining negotiations. His team said that
US prosecutors had offered him the chance to be repatriated and
serve much of his sentence in the UK if he went to face a US trial
voluntarily.
They said that he was told that if he fought extradition he
would not be permitted the opportunity to serve his sentence in the
UK, a threat which McKinnon's lawyers believe violates his human
rights.
"We argued that that was coercive plea bargaining, that his
rights to repatriation and therefore his rights under Article 8 of
the Human Rights Act, which is the right to a private and a family
life, could be breached because they have already said before he
even gets there that he won't be repatriated," said Karen Todner,
McKinnon's solicitor.
"Gary has the right to have his repatriation to this country
considered fairly and not arbitrarily and prosecutors have already
said that because he objected to the extradition they will not
allow his repatriation to take place, and we have argued that that
is an abuse of the extradition process," said Todner.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Goldring said in the
High Court that they could find no grounds for appeal in the case.
Home Secretary John Reid had already signed McKinnon's extradition
order last summer.
McKinnon, whom lawyers say has been made ill by the stress of
the process, was searching the computer networks for evidence of
devices in the hands of US authorities which he said had been
reverse engineered from alien technology. He claims to have seen
evidence of that in NASA's machines.
Lawyers for McKinnon recently told OUT-LAW Radio that they would
appeal directly to the Home Secretary should court appeals fail
because the nature of their case rested on McKinnon's human
rights.
"The Secretary of State has an inherent discretion to consider
someone's human rights under the new Extradition Act," Todner said.
"We are now going to go back to the Secretary of State and ask him
to reconsider his position in relation to Gary."
Disclaimer: We hope you find OUT-LAW’s content useful. It’s prepared by the lawyers at Pinsent Masons. Please remember, though, that it’s intended as general information only. It’s not legal advice. If that’s what you’re seeking, please
contact us. See also: our
full disclaimer
