Frances Gibb | July 31, 2008
GARY McKinnon stands accused of becoming the most accomplished computer hacker in history by crashing the US army network, but claims only to have been pursuing a fascination with aliens.
The 42-year-old unemployed systems analyst, who broke into US military computers from his bedroom in Wood Green, north London, faces at least 10 years in a US jail. Throughout he has insisted that he was seeking information on UFOs and aliens.He lost his final appeal against extradition yesterday after Britain's law lords were told that he rejected a plea bargain in which he was offered a shorter prison sentence of three or four years in return for pleading guilty.
The law lords dismissed Mr McKinnon's claim that threats made against him by US prosecutors amounted to an abuse of process and refused to quash extradition procedings against him.
Mr McKinnon admits accessing 97 US military and NASA computers. US prosecutors also allege that he shut down and rendered inoperable 300 computers at a US Navy weapons station at a critical time, immediately after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
His only hope is to persuade the European Court of Human Rights to put a "stay" on proceedings, pending consideration of his case.
Karen Todner, his solicitor, said: "Gary McKinnon is neither a terrorist, nor a terrorist sympathiser. His case could have been properly dealt with by our own prosecuting authorities.
``Instead, we believe that the British Government declined to prosecute him to enable the US Government to make an example of him. American officials involved in this case have stated that they want to see him `fry'."
The law lords heard that under the plea bargain he would serve six to 12 months and then be returned to Britain to serve the rest of his sentence.
Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood said that, in all, he might serve 18 months to two years. However, if he was extradited and convicted, he might expect to receive a sentence of between eight and ten years, possibly longer, and would not be repatriated to Britain for any part of it.
The Times