Gary McKinnon latest

[Seth Haniel]

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been urged to halt the extradition to the US of computer hacker Gary McKinnon.

Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty in the US of breaking into military computers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7768394.stm

[KathyT]

Originally Posted by Seth Haniel

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been urged to halt the extradition to the US of computer hacker Gary McKinnon.

Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty in the US of breaking into military computers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7768394.stm

Frankly, I don't see any earthshattering information that Gary got that should be of such great concern by the US or UK.

There was no firewall or security on the part of the US. And the governments claim that there was "damage" is ridiculous.

I sincerely hope and pray he's given leniency.

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...n-Britain.html

Nasa hacker Gary McKinnon could be tried in Britain
Gary McKinnon, the British hacker accused of breaking into the Pentagon and Nasa computer systems, could be tried in Britain to prevent his extradition to the US.

By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 2:55PM GMT 12 Jan 2009

Gary McKinnon, the hacker accused of breaking into the Pentagon and Nasa, could be tried in Britain Photo: PA Lawyers for Mr McKinnon, 42, have told the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that he will plead guilty to a charge under the Misuse of Computers Act, according to reports.

A prosecution in Britain would likely scupper attempts by the US government to extradite the unemployed systems analyst, who has Asperger's syndrome.

Mr McKinnon admits he gained access to 97 US Navy, Army, Nasa and Pentagon computers from the bedroom of his girlfriend's aunt's house, but he says he was motivated by curiosity and only got in because of lax security.

The US government says he stole passwords and deleted files. He faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty in America.

Mr McKinnon has been involved in a long-running legal battle to prevent his extradition, but in August 2008 the European Court of Human Rights rejected his application to appeal a House of Lords ruling that he must go to the US.

Karen Todner, Mr McKinnon's solicitor, has now written to the Director of Public Prosecutions to acknowledge her client's guilt and make clear his willingness to face justice in Britain where the offence was committed, The Guardian reported. The CPS is said to be considering the matter.

Mr McKinnon has won support from the National Autistic Society and more than 80 MPs in his battle to stay in the UK.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7824799.stm

[Egg]

If 80 sitting Right Honourable Members of parliment cannot halt this, then their are dark powers indeed wanting their hands of Mr M.

That shows how powerful those who want him for their own reasons must be. Goodness knows what he must of stumbled across, read and left behind not knowing what he had seen would cause so much anger against him.

[Barron]

..for those who don't know, and are interested...there is a "Free Gary McKinnon" petition made some time ago.... Thanx for posting this...

http://www.petitiononline.com/AAA12345/petition.html

Take care all.....

[Jacqui D]

Thanx barron signed the petition.

I really pray that Gary will not be extradited, don't hold out much hope on 80 mps though, they all work for the same agenda.
But i guess there may be some good guys out there, we live in hope!

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01...ition_on_hold/

McKinnon wins extradition delay
Track this topic Print story Post comment All hold pending UK prosecution decision

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Crime, 20th January 2009 14:39 GMT


Gary McKinnon has been granted a delay in his long-running fight against extradition to the US on hacking charges.

A judicial review of the Home Secretary's decision to ignore McKinnon's recent diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome in deciding to push ahead with his extradition was adjourned for a month, following a hearing on Tuesday morning. The hearing before two high court judges was effectively put on ice in order to allow the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to consider whether or not to bring a UK prosecution, in response to a signed confession by McKinnon submitted last month.

A decision by the DPP is expected within a month. In the meantime the oral hearing on the Home Secretary's decision has been put on hold.

McKinnon greeted news of the delay with delight. "It's brilliant news — they're delaying the whole thing until we've got the DPP's decision," McKinnon told Zdnet. "It's such a relief."

The former sys admins faces a seven-count US charge sheet holding him culpable for breaking into 97 US government, NASA and military systems in the course of a computer hacking spree that ran between 2001 and 2002. The London-based Scot admits rooting around insecure systems but denies causing any damage.

He describes himself as a bumbling amateur looking for evidence that US authorities had suppressed knowledge about advanced technologies harvested from crashed UFOs, while US authorities describe him as the perp of the biggest military hack ever recorded. McKinnon was first arrested in 2002 by UK police, but US attempts to extradite McKinnon only commenced in 2005. Since then McKinnon and his lawyers have consistently sought a UK trial for his admitted offences.

After legal defeats in appeals against extradition in the House of Lords and in Europe last year, McKinnon's prospects looked grim, and it seemed only a matter of time before he'd have to face a one-way trip across the Atlantic in the company of the US Marshals Service. Things are looking much more hopeful now, especially since a change in administration in the US - to say nothing of the passage of time - means that those most active in seeking McKinnon's extradition have probably moved on or changed jobs. Incoming Obama-era officials will have little stake in the case. ®

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7840448.stm
Judgement reserved in hacker case

Gary McKinnon arriving for his judicial review hearing at the High Court
The British hacker facing extradition to the the US for hacking into American military computers will know on Friday whether he can seek a judicial review.

The court hearing his request for review was told that Gary McKinnon could be a suicide risk if his extradition to the US went ahead.

He has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and his legal team argued his extradition would be inappropriate.

Lawyers for the Home Secretary played down the risk to Mr McKinnon's health.

Psychosis or suicide

Edward Fitzgerald QC acting for Mr McKinnon told the court: "The very fact of extradition would endanger his health."

The lawyer told the High Court his medical condition was likely to give rise to psychosis or suicide if removed to the US, far away from his family, and he should be allowed to stand trial in the UK.

His legal team are requesting a judicial review into Mr McKinnon's extradition, as he was only diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome last August.

The condition had not been taken into consideration by the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith at the time she decided he should be extradited. The very fact of extradition would endanger his health

Edward Fitzgerald QC


The "obsessive" hacker

Mr Fitzgerald accused the Home Secretary of failing to inform herself and properly consider these risks before deciding in October last year to permit extradition.

He said she had also failed to request an undertaking from the US that Mr McKinnon, "a seriously disordered person", would be repatriated to serve his sentence in the UK, or request that he be given bail pending trial.

Hugo Keith, appearing for the Home Secretary, argued that the minister had acted within her powers and extradition would not be oppressive or unjust.

Mr McKinnon's risk of mental illness could be mitigated by treatment in the US - "otherwise one would be arguing that no-one with severe or moderately severe mental suffering could ever be extradited".

Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Simon said they hoped to give their decision on Friday.

Mr McKinnon has always admitted hacking into the computer systems in 2001-2 which the US government says cost $800,000 (£550,000) in damage.

Obsession

He has always said that he had no malicious intent but was looking for classified documents on UFOs he believed the US authorities had suppressed.

Speaking on Thursday, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a leading expert on Asperger's Syndrome responsible for the diagnosis of Mr McKinnon said: "If, as I believe, the crime was committed through naivety and through an obsession - in this case with computers and trying to find information - without any intent to deceive, without any attempt to hide what he was doing, we should be thinking about this as the activity of somebody with a disability rather than a criminal activity."

Mr McKinnon's legal team have sent a request to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer, for him to face trial in the UK rather than the US.

The DPP will give his answer in four weeks time and the court heard today that the Home Secretary had agreed to postpone Mr McKinnon's extradition until the DPP had considered his response.

'Ray of hope'

Speaking on Thursday, his solicitor, Karen Todner, had feared he could be removed to the US within days.

Speaking outside the court Mr McKinnon said: "It's been a good day overall. For a change it's slightly good news - a little ray of hope."

If his legal team can persuade the DPP to try Mr McKinnon in the UK, he would face a three to four year sentence rather than a potential 70 years in US courts.

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/15821..._reviewed.html

British UFO Hacker's Extradition Case to Be Reviewed
Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service

Jan 23, 2009 2:20 pm

A British hacker who sought to find evidence of UFOs on U.S. military computers has another chance at avoiding extradition after a court ruling Friday.

The High Court in London ruled that Gary McKinnon can have his case reviewed by the director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, Keir Starmer, according to statement released by McKinnon's attorney.

McKinnon is seeking to be prosecuted in the U.K. although his extradition order has been approved by the U.K. government. He has managed to avoid extradition so far through a series of legal maneuvers and appeals, all of which have been unsuccessful but held up his transfer to the U.S.

McKinnon was indicted in November 2002 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He faces charges of illegally accessing and damaging U.S. government computers.

The U.S. government alleges his exploits cost at least US$700,000 and caused the shutdown of critical military networks shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. McKinnon could face a sentence of 60 years or more.

Most recently, McKinnon has tried to garner support that, for medical reasons, if he is extradited and sentenced he should be allowed to serve a sentence in the U.K. Now McKinnon is pushing to only be prosecuted in the U.K. due to the stress he would endure from a U.S. trial.

He has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, which is a neurological disorder characterized by obsessive behavior and deficiencies in social interaction.

McKinnon has admitted to hacking the computers and described how he did it in detail at computer security conferences in London. From his north London home, McKinnon began probing military computers looking for evidence of UFOs.

He used a program called "RemotelyAnywhere" to control U.S. military computers. Many of the computers he accessed were set up with default passwords, which made them easy to access, McKinnon has said.

He timed his hacking when no one was working at the U.S. offices. But on one occasion he miscalculated the time difference. Someone using a computer that McKinnon controlled noticed the cursor moving on its own. The connection was severed, and U.K. police eventually tracked McKinnon down.

[Steve_A]

Hi Seth Haniel,

It appears that Gary McKinnon is in a little bit of a quandry. Since his pleas of wanting to stay in the UK instead of being tried in the US, things appear to be a little different.

Since then NASA has got itself in a bit of a spot. If the trial goes ahead in the US, it could be proven that NASA has been hiding and destroying information. That could mean a loss of billions of dollars and also other cases of fraud for NASA employees.

Being tried in the UK, especially if youplan to plead guilty will quash the need to bring in NASA witnesses. One leanient prison sentence later, all is forgotten.

Should McKinnon play hardball and insist in going to the US and plead not guilty? If he did, would NASA drop the case?

It's a difficult one to call. Personally I would play hardball and split the game wide open, even if I had to be a 'sacrificial lamb' in the process.

It's the way I am.

But Mr. McKinnon, I'm sure will spend his six months behind bars and dissappear into the midst of the crowded streets when he's released.

At least a mild prison sentence would give him time to write a book.

Best regards,

Steve

Originally Posted by Seth Haniel

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been urged to halt the extradition to the US of computer hacker Gary McKinnon.

Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty in the US of breaking into military computers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7768394.stm

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2...ition-decision

Boris Johnson slams US attempt to extradite hacker Gary McKinnonMayor of London calls on Obama to end 'lunacy' surrounding British programmer's caseHélène Mulholland
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 January 2009 15.50 GMT

Boris Johnson today rallied to the defence of Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker facing extradition to the US, and called on Barack Obama's new administration to deal with "this last piece of neocon lunacy" left over from George Bush's government.

Writing in his weekly Daily Telegraph column today, the mayor of London attacked the British government for signing the warrant for the extradition of McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome. The Tory mayor said that Obama could sort out McKinnon's case "at the stroke of a pen" .

McKinnon, a self-confessed "bumbling computer nerd", hacked into the computer systems of Nasa and the Pentagon seven years ago in search of evidence about UFOs.

He recently won the right to a full judicial review after the high court ruled that the home secretary had failed to give proper consideration to evidence of his mental condition.

"Gary McKinnon wasn't even a proper hacker," wrote Johnson. "He did something called 'blank password scanning', and, because these military computers were so dumb as to lack proper passwords, he was able to roam around their intestines in search of evidence of little green men. He was so innocent and unfurtive in his investigations that he left his own email address, and messages such as: 'Your security is ****.' And, yes, since you ask, he does think that he found evidence that the US military is infiltrated by beings from the planet Tharg. He even knows the names and ranks of various non-terrestrial officers, though unfortunately they have been deleted from his hard drive.

"It is brutal, mad and wrong even to consider sending this man to America for trial. He has been diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome, for heaven's sake. How can the British government be so protoplasmic, so pathetic, so heedless of the wellbeing of its own people, as to sign the warrant for his extradition?"

Praising Obama's actions since being sworn into office, which include initiating the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and ending the practise of "extraordinary rendition", Johnson said it was now time for the US to end "its demented quest" to extradite the 42-year-old from north London.

"To listen to the ravings of the US military, you would think that Mr McKinnon is a threat to national security on a par with Osama bin Laden. According to the Americans, this mild-mannered computer programmer has done more damage to their war-fighting capabilities than all the orange-pyjama-clad suspects of Guantánamo combined."

Last week, Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Simon granted a full judicial review in respect of the possible effect of incarceration on someone in McKinnon's vulnerable medical condition.

The court had heard that McKinnon might become suicidal in a US jail. The court set a full hearing for March. McKinnon's lawyer, Karen Todner, said that no court had yet considered the impact on McKinnon in light of his medical condition.

[Noela]

The full text of mayor Boris Johnson's article, which was very hard-hitting, is on the Telegraph website -

www.telegraph.co.uk.

Well said Boris Johnson! Kudos to you sir!

Could he be the King Arthur we've been waiting for?

[EYES WIDE OPEN]

FULL TEXT.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/c...terrorist.html

Americans who want a harmless hacker extradited from Britain must be from a different planet, says Boris Johnson.

Way to go, Mr President. I think we can all agree that it has been a cracking first week. Apart from the swearing-in glitch – which was entirely the fault of that judge – I have supported just about everything that Barack Obama has done.

I liked the speech, and the promise that America is ready to lead again. It is good news that he is getting rid of Guantanamo and water-boarding and extraordinary rendition, all the dread apparatus of the Bush regime.

But before we all get too misty-eyed about the new era, and before Barack devotes himself entirely to the meltdown of the banks, there is one more thing in his diplomatic in-tray. There is one last piece of neocon lunacy that needs to be addressed, and Mr Obama could sort it out at the stroke of a pen.

In a legal nightmare that has lasted seven years, and cost untold millions to taxpayers both here and in America, the US Justice Department is persisting in its demented quest to extradite 43-year-old Londoner, Gary McKinnon.

To listen to the ravings of the US military, you would think that Mr McKinnon is a threat to national security on a par with Osama bin Laden. According to the Americans, this mild-mannered computer programmer has done more damage to their war-fighting capabilities than all the orange-pyjama-clad suspects of Guantanamo combined.

And how? He is a hacker. He hacked into the Pentagon, he hacked into the army, the navy, and the air force, and the Americans say he temporarily paralysed US Naval Weapons station Earle, by deleting some files.

In their continuing rage at this electronic lèse-majesté, the Americans want us to send him over there to face trial, and the possibility of a 70-year jail sentence. It is a comment on American bullying and British spinelessness that this farce is continuing, because Gary McKinnon is not and never has been any kind of threat to American security. He had only one reason for fossicking around in the databanks of Pentagon computers, and it had nothing to do with the war on terror or indeed the military capabilities of any country on earth.

Mr McKinnon believes in UFOs, and he is one of the large number of people who think that there is a gigantic conspiracy to conceal their existence from the rest of us, and that this conspiracy is organised by the US government.

I am not so brave as to claim that UFOs do not exist. The Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees, has said he believes in life forms on other planets, and no decent empiricist could rule out the possibility.

It may be that the former footballer and BBC presenter David Icke is right, and that the world is run by giant lizards in disguise. Perhaps Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are themselves supersized saurians who have been sent on a 10-year mission to wreck the UK economy, in preparation for the great lizard takeover. Maybe the whole plot will climax in Davos this week, when all 2,500 leading economic and political lizards will meet in the Swiss alps – having done untold damage to global finances – and hail the arrival of the lizard mother ship as it perches on the mountain top.

All this is certainly theoretically possible, just as it is possible that there really was an accident involving an alien spacecraft at Roswell, and that there really is an extra large teapot in orbit around Mars. It is just that I happen to think it vanishingly unlikely, and we have a word for people who persist in believing in alien abduction. They are cranks, and they do not deserve to be persecuted. They do not deserve to be arrested, and have their lives ruined by the agonising delays of the law, unable to work, a drain on the resources of the state and of their families.

Gary McKinnon wasn't even a proper hacker. He did something called "blank password scanning", and because these military computers were so dumb as to lack proper passwords, he was able to roam around their intestines in search of evidence of little green men. He was so innocent and un-furtive in his investigations that he left his own email address, and messages such as "Your security is ****". And yes, since you ask, he does think that he found evidence that the US military is infiltrated by beings from the planet Tharg. He even knows the names and ranks of various non-terrestrial officers, though unfortunately they have been deleted from his hard drive.

It is brutal, mad and wrong even to consider sending this man to America for trial. He has been diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome, for heaven's sake. How can the British government be so protoplasmic, so pathetic, so heedless of the well-being of its own people, as to sign the warrant for his extradition? What kind of priorities do we have these days? We treat a harmless UFO-believer as an international terrorist, and are willing to send him to prison in America, and as for real terrorists – people who bombed and maimed innocent civilians in this country – we seem willing to give their families £12,000 each, on the grounds that they are all "victims" of the troubles in Northern Ireland.

The British government is obviously too feeble to help Mr McKinnon, and even though the courts last week granted him another review, it is plain that the matter will simply drag preposterously and expensively on.

It is time for Barack Obama to show the new leadership the world has been crying out for. It is time for the Commander-in-Chief to tell the US military to stop being so utterly wet, dry their eyes, and invest in some passwords that are slightly more difficult to crack.

In the words of the spiritual with which he began his inauguration ceremony, it is time for the new President to let our people go. To persist with this extradition is so cruel and so irrational that the only plausible explanation is that beneath their suits the US Justice Department and the UK Home Office are occupied by a conspiracy of great green gibbering geckos from outer space.

[Delphi]

To quote a 16 year old geek ROCK ON BORIS!

I'm just amazed he didn't mention Mr Livingston's newts along with the saurians and the geckos.

all the best to Gary McKinnon

love to all

[EYES WIDE OPEN]

“home secretary Jacquie Smith incompetent in this case”

http://www.ufodigest.com/news/0209/70-years.html

Gary McKinnon the British man who hacked the United States' defense computers, allegedly for the suppressed information on UFOs has won the right for a full judicial review, after the high court revealed the home secretary Jacquie Smith had been incompetent in this case analysis among others.
The United States administration suggests that Gary hacked 97 defense computers. The threat is that he could get 70 years under terrorist legislation, in someplace like Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Under the codename Solo he allegedly hacked into hundreds of machines belonging to the Pentagon, the U.S. army, the air force and NASA, which were not not properly secured by officials. This occurred over a period of 18 months.

U.S. prosecutors claim he caused $700,000 (£375,000) worth of damage. A lawyer for the U.S. government said the hacking "was intentional and calculated to influence and affect the U.S. government by intimidation. In an interview with the Guardian in 2006, Mr McKinnon claimed he had simply been searching for evidence of UFO activity.

Wolfgang Vogel the East German spy master said the, "U.S. computer security was a joke."
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao claimed, all Chinese spying was now accomplished in the U.S. by means of foreign students and computer hacking, and the spy who did more damage to U.S. defense capability that any other, Jonathan Pollard also hacked everything there was on U.S. computers, all got off light or walked away, yet this UFO spotter with Aspersers syndrome, is expected to be made an example of and carry the can for all?

I don't think so, the law is quite clear that Britain and the U.S. are stated democracies, e.g., government of the people, by the people, for the people etc., so in effect the government's information belongs to the people, you and me, so how can you steal what belongs to you already?

The U.S. administration are aware of this so have ready and waiting back up charges of criminal damage to the computers, but British intelligence say, he did hack but not damage computers.
For the United States to allow enemies to walk away with spying yet prosecute a man from their supposed greatest ally will be a real shot in the foot for the U.S.A.

The George Bush administration has badly damaged relations with the free word, Britain in particular, to release all the UFO information which the U.S. lied to its people about possessing, and which should have been in the public domain all along, and the release of this man would be a good time to build genuine bridges.

T Stokes
Sources:

*Home office minister Jacquie Smith, Jack Straw, and the Millibands are all listed Mossad assets.

With thanks to
Keir Starmer Q C
Special Branch
Jerusalem post
Sir John Adyle- statements
F.B.I monthly bulletin
Jane’s intelligence review
Intelligence statements by Robert Maxwell 1987
Shin Bett

[Noela]

From the U.K. Guardian (23.2.09) - "Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of anti-terror laws, has written to the home secretary to ask her to enable computer hacker Gary McKinnon to be prosecuted in the UK rather than face extradition and a jail term in the US. The intervention comes as the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, is considering whether to prosecute McKinnon, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, under British computer misuse laws.......

Lord Carlile is the latest among a growing number of political and legal figures who have urged the home secretary and DPP to prosecute in the UK. About 100 MPs from all parties have signed an early day motion urging that McKinnon should not be extradited unless a guarantee is given that he would serve his sentence in the UK. ....

A final judicial review of the case is scheduled for next month. The DPP's office confirmed last weekthat the matter was still being considered.

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news...dealt-blow-cps
Gary McKinnon dealt new blow by CPS
British hacker turned down for UK trial under Computer Misuse Act

Written by Phil Muncaster

Computing, 26 Feb 2009

British hacker Gary McKinnon's hopes of being tried in the UK were dealt a massive blow today, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced it would not bring charges against him.

The move leaves the way open for McKinnon to be extradited to the US, where he could face 70 years in jail for illegally hacking into Pentagon, US military and Nasa systems.


McKinnon supporters had hoped CPS chief Keir Starmer would authorise a trial in the UK under the Computer Misuse Act.

But in a statement today, Alison Saunders, head of the CPS Organised Crime Division said: "Although there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr McKinnon for these offences, the evidence we have does not come near to reflecting the criminality that is alleged by the American authorities."

She said that although his hacking attempts were conducted from the UK, " the target and the damage were transatlantic".

The McKinnon camp will now be pinning their hopes on a final High Court judicial review of the home secretary's decision to allow the extradition, which is expected next month.

They have argued that McKinnon, who has Asperger's Syndrome, was merely looking for evidence of UFOs and did not intend to cause the widespread damage of which he is accused.

He has since won support from both London mayor Boris Johnson and, more recently, Lord Carlile, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism laws.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/fe...faces-us-trial
UK hacker faces US trial for breaking into defence department system• Man with asperger's loses bid to be prosecuted in UK
• Mother accuses British government of lacking humanity

The British computer hacker Gary McKinnon today lost his attempt to be tried for computer offences in the UK and now faces the imminent prospect of extradition to the US. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced it would not prosecute McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, leaving the way open for his extradition.

The decision was condemned by McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, who has campaigned for her son, from north London, to be allowed to stand trial in the UK.

She said: "I'm heartbroken at the lack of compassion shown towards my desperately vulnerable son. Gary is a gentle man with Asperger's – not a dangerous terrorist."

The US is seeking his extradition because of his hacking, which it says included entering the computer systems of the US defence department and Nasa.

McKinnon's mother said his obsessions led him to search US computer systems. "Wrong, yes, but extraditing him to a high-security prison knowing he won't survive – surely no one can honestly believe that punishment fits the crime," she said.

A final judicial review of the home secretary's decision to allow the extradition is due in the high court next month, but campaigners had been pinning their hopes on the new director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, intervening.

The CPS said the decision followed "a careful review of all available evidence including further material and admissions to offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 which were submitted by Mr McKinnon's solicitors".

Alison Saunders, head of the CPS organised crime division, said: "We identified nine occasions where Mr McKinnon has admitted to activity which would amount to an offence under section 2 of the Computer Misuse Act (unauthorised access with intent). Although there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr McKinnon for these offences, the evidence we have does not come near to reflecting the criminality that is alleged by the American authorities."

She said McKinnon's hacking activities "were not random experiments in computer hacking, but a deliberate effort to breach US defence systems at a critical time which caused well-documented damage. They may have been conducted from Mr McKinnon's home computer – and in that sense there is a UK link – but the target and the damage were transatlantic."

McKinnon's family and legal team had hoped the director of public prosecutions would authorise a trial in the UK. A campaign on his behalf has been mounted by MPs of all parties. This week, Lord Carlile, the government's independent reviewer of anti-terror laws, added his name to the campaign in a personal capacity, highlighting McKinnon's medical condition, which was only recently diagnosed.

The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, could still intervene by insisting that McKinnon should be granted immediate bail in the US and be allowed to serve any sentence in the UK. So far, she has declined to do so.

McKinnon's mother added: "When will the UK stop hiding behind treaty obligations to the US and let humanity, common sense and decency prevail? Perhaps one day the realisation of these decisions will dawn.

"We've suffered an agonising seven years which has ruined the lives and health of my family. Somebody somewhere please wake up – and realise the extradition of even one vulnerable person cannot be a price worth paying to save the US government's embarrassment.

"Our last hope now lies with the judges hearing the judicial review."

The CPS said that when it first became aware of the case in 2002, it was clear that it was an "extremely complex inquiry and would require the examination of a large number of computers, the majority of which were situated in the US". The CPS therefore agreed to cede jurisdiction to US authorities.

[Antaletriangle]

http://security.itproportal.com/secu...ys-ex-hostage/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03...acks_mckinnon/
Let Gary McKinnon Walk Free Says Ex-Hostage






Human rights activist and a former Beirut hostage Terry Waite has asked the US government to drop the case against the British hacker Gary McKinnon, and instead the government must thank the hacker for “exposing the fragility” in the country’s military systems.

Waite, who was kidnapped in Lebanon in the year 1987 and held hostage for around four years, asserted that Pentagon must be grateful to the self-confessed hacker for revealing the vulnerabilities in the US military systems.

The UK-based hacker facing extradition for hacking US military systems using his dial-up connection, with an intention to search out some information on UFOs.

Waite said that McKinnon’s illness actually made him “irrationally obsessive” to break into the computer systems, and hence it was an utter “waste of time” to pursue him.

Citing his illness as the main cause for the act McKinnon committed, Waite said in a statement, “More importantly, the accused suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and no nation under the sun ought to convict an individual whose behaviour is occasioned by illness”.

McKinnon is challenging the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s ruling to permit his extradition, and if convicted in the US the hacker could face a sentence for up to 70 years in prison over the charges of disrupting the defence systems.

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Pink Floyd guitarist supports McKinnon protest
Author: Karl Flinders Posted: 15:06 27 Mar 2009 Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour will take part in a sing-in protest against attempts to extradite UFO fanatic Gary McKinnon to face trial in the US over hacking the Pentagon.

McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp announced the news on microblogging website Twitter.

According to a report on The Register, Gilmour will not be at the protest, but will contribute to the backing track of a song.

The protest is planned to coincide with Barack Obama's visit to London for the G20 conference on the global economic crisis in April.

McKinnon is accused of committing the biggest military hack of all timeby hacking into 97 US federal and military computer systems, and of trying to get into 73,000 others where the US authorities say he causeddamage worth at least £350,000.


McKinnon was arrested in 2002, but the US asked for his extradition only in 2005. He has previously confessed to having entered US computer systems without authorisationin an attempt to find evidence of extra-terrestrial life and technology.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03...n_protest_gig/

Pink Floyd's Gilmour backs McKinnon protest gig
Track this topic Print story Post comment UFO hacker gets support from Dark Side of the Moon

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Crime, 26th March 2009 11:49 GMT

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Updated Legendary Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has agreed to participate in a musical protest against attempts to extradite UFO enthusiast turned hacker Gary McKinnon to the US.

Janis Sharp, McKinnon's mum, is organising a sing-in protest to coincide with President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to London for the G20 conference on the global economic crisis at the beginning of April. News of Gilmour's involvement gives a massive publicity boost to these efforts.

"Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd is going to sing Graham Nash's 'Chicago' for our son Gary McKinnons 'Sing In' for World Autism Day 2nd April yea," Sharp excitedly announced via micro-blogging service Twitter on Wednesday.

Sharp added that the offer came by email and that Gilmour had agreed to "sing/record Chicago on our backing track for Gary's 'Sing In'”. The Pink Floyd legend will not be able to attend the demo itself, however.

"Dave Gilmour can't come to the live "sing in" because he's going on half term holiday on Friday with his wife and children," Sharp told El Reg.

In a follow-up message, Sharp explained how Glmour came to offer his help.

"We've known Joe, Dave Gilmour's brother-in-law, since Gary was a child and Joe knows Gary is a good person," she writes. "Joe told David Gilmour and his sister Polly (Polly is David Gilmour's wife) and Dave immediately offered and emailed me to say he is happy to sing on our 'Sing In' recording/cd for Gary."

Gilmour's email, Ma McKinnon tells us, also said: "I agree that your son Gary should not be being extradited to the USA for his naïve hacking. It is hard to understand that our so-called fair justice system could not be more effectively used to prevent this."

Shine on you crazy diamond
Gilmour, legendary singer and guitarist with Pink Floyd needs little introduction, but what's not-so well known is that the rocker has supported charities including the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association and Amnesty International over the years, something that's probably made him more receptive to McKinnon's plight.

Sharp has rewritten the lyrics (but not the tune) of Graham Nash's Chicago so that it serves as a protest anthem against long-running attempts to haul her self-confessed UFO evidence hunter turned US military hacker son over to the US. The protests seeks to draw attention to the "one-sided" UK-US extradition treaty more generally.

Nash is famous as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash. Sharp choose the song partly because it harked back to the era of the Vietnam War protests as a mechanism to "rekindle the spirit of protest" of those times. The title of the song also references Obama's adopted home city.

Crank up the volume
Music has been a feature in McKinnon's long-running campaign against extradition. Celebrity supporters of McKinnon's include former Police frontman Sting and wife Trudie Styler.

Ross Hemsworth, managing director of Glastonbury Radio and UK director of the International UFO Congress, suggested plans to organise a benefit gig on McKinnon's behalf back in November but the idea never came to fruition. Kayleigh-admirers Marillion inititally supported the idea of a gig but later pulled out, partially out of fears of upsetting their US fanbase.

Hemsworth also floated the idea of bringing musicians together to make a recording of a song written by McKinnon, called Only a Fool, with the proceeds going to autism charities. So far that idea is yet to come together, either.

Samples of McKinnon's other musical work can be found below, via YouTube.

McKinnon's team obviously have the prog rock, folk and new age music scenes well covered. Sharp adds that "Cliff Williams the Bass Player of AC/DC is an old friend from Muswell Hill", so metal may get covered too.

Newer genres - such as rap and techno - seem to be a bit more tricky.

The planned 'sit-in' musical protests will take place two months before judicial review on whether the Home Secretary was right to allow extradition proceedings against McKinnon to continue in spite of his recent diagnosis with Asperger's Syndrome. The hearing represents McKinnon's best hopes of avoiding extradition and trial following earlier failed appeal to the House of Lords and elsewhere last year, prior to the diagnosis of McKinnon with a mild form of autism. ®