Fergie's Tech Blog

Gary McKinnon Update: UK Hacker Extradition Appeal Hearing Begins

Gary McKinnon, appearing at court in London in 2005.

Lawyers for a British computer hacker started an appeal in London High Court Tuesday to block their client's extradition to the U.S.

Gary McKinnon, of London, is accused of deleting data and illegally accessing information on 97 U.S. military and NASA computers between February 2001 and March 2002. He's been charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

McKinnon, who did not show up in court, could face up to 60 years in prison, said his attorney, Edmund Lawson.

British authorities declined to prosecute McKinnon and the U.S. sought to extradite him. He challenged the extradition order in Bow Street Magistrates Court in May 2006. His attorney contended that since U.S. authorities allege McKinnon disrupted critical military networks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he could be held as an enemy combatant and subjected to inhuman treatment.

The judge rejected the argument, and the U.K. Home Secretary John Reid subsequently approved an extradition order.

The appeal hearing will continue Wednesday in London High Court.

posted by Fergie @ 2/13/2007 10:25:00 AM