British computer hacker faces extradition to US after court appeal failsGary McKinnon Gary McKinnon, also known as Solo, (born in Glasgow in 1966) is a British hacker accused by the United States of perpetrating the "biggest military computer hack of all time. , the British computer hacker who cracked open the Pentagon and Nasa systems in the US, has lost his appeal to the European court of human rights European Court of Human Rights: see Council of Europe. and could face immediate extradition to the US to stand trial. His lawyers indicated last night that they were urging the home secretary to allow McKinnon to stand trial in the United Kingdom as he had recently been diagnosed as suffering from Asperger's syndrome As·per·ger's syndrome n. A pervasive developmental disorder, usually of childhood, characterized by impairments in social interactions and repetitive behavior patterns. . McKinnon, 42, from Bounds Green Coordinates: Bounds Green is an area in the north-east of London, in the London Borough of Haringey. Parts of Bounds Green are also known as New Southgate, but most of New Southgate lies in London Borough of Enfield to the north west. , north London North London is a part of London, England which has several possible definitions. River & geography The part of London north of the River Thames (illustrated). , who has been described in the US as the biggest military hacker of all time, faces a series of charges in the US in connection with hacking activities that took place nearly 10 years ago. He is alleged to have broken into 53 US army, 26 US navy and 16 Nasa computer systems and to have caused $700,000 (£380,000) damage to the systems, in which he left disparaging dis·par·age tr.v. dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing, dis·par·ag·es 1. To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; belittle. See Synonyms at decry. 2. To reduce in esteem or rank. messages about their security arrangements. He lost his appeal against extradition in the House of Lords House of Lords: see Parliament. following a hearing last month in which it was argued that if he were to stand trial, it should be in the UK. He was granted a temporary stay by the European court European Court could mean:
See also Isolation. Alcatraz Island former federal maximum security penitentiary, near San Francisco; “escapeproof.” [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 218] Altmark, the German prison ship in World War II. [Br. Hist. thousands of miles away from his family in a country in which he has never set foot." Todner added: "Our client's case highlights a worrying trend where UK citizens are at the mercy of the ever-increasing tendency of overseas prosecutors to extend their jurisdiction to crimes allegedly committed in this country." As McKinnon had been diagnosed as suffering from Asperger's syndrome, she was writing to the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, inviting a prosecution in this country. James Welch, legal director of Liberty, said: "It is a shame that the court of human rights will allow his extradition even as they consider whether US extradition measures were fair." McKinnon, 42, was inspired as a teenager in 1983 by the film WarGames, in which a teenager hacks into the Pentagon system. He started hacking into American military and space computer systems because he believed they contained information about UFOs. His alleged hacking activities took place between 1999 and 2002, when he was arrested. He denies that his activities threatened US security. He also declined a deal by the US authorities in which they would agree to a short sentence which could be partly served in the UK if he agreed to be extradited and plead guilty. Technically, he could face 60 years in jail in the US although the actual sentence is likely to be much shorter. 
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