A British court ruled on Friday that a man who hacked into US military computers can seek a new hearing in his battle to avoid extradition.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay said the fact that Gary McKinnon had been diagnosed recently with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, merits further consideration. He agreed to permit McKinnon’s lawyers to present arguments at a hearing in March that will determine if he gets a chance to formally appeal the extradition.
US prosecutors say McKinnon, 42, broke into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the US Department of Defense and several branches of the military from a bedroom in a north London home, causing nearly US$1 billion in damage.
McKinnon said he was looking for evidence of Unidentified Flying Objects and only succeeded in his hack because of lax security.
His lawyers said McKinnon he is likely to become suicidal if he is removed to the US away from family and familiar surroundings.
His attorney Karen Todner said British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith did not consider these risks properly when she ruled in October that the extradition should proceed.
US officials say McKinnon’s hacking — which took place soon after the Sept. 11 attacks on the US — shut down the US Army district responsible for protecting Washington and cleared logs from computers at Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, which tracks the location and battle-readiness of US Navy ships.
McKinnon was caught in 2002 when investigators traced software used in the attacks to his girlfriend’s e-mail account. If he is extradited, he will face trial on eight charges of computer fraud.
Each count could bring a sentence of 10 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, but US prosecutors have said he would likely receive a much lighter sentence.
McKinnon’s lawyers had argued that any alleged offense that took place in Britain should be tried in Britain, but British and European courts have so far rejected repeated legal attempts to prevent his extradition.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS