With absurd ease, Asperger's victim Gary hacked into Pentagon computers in a bid to prove the existence of little green men. So why is the U.S. using all its might to extradite him to face 60 years in jail? And more pertinently, why are our craven politicians doing nothing to help him?
To all who know him, Gary McKinnon is a harmless computer nerd obsessed with proving the existence of 'little green men'. Yet the U.S. authorities insist the British UFO fanatic is a 'cyber-terrorist' who hacked into top-secret Pentagon and NASA computers. They say that Gary, who has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, must be extradited and tried in their courts.
They have vowed to put the vulnerable 43-year-old behind bars for up to 60 years - which means he would almost certainly die in a notorious high-security Supermax jail. Medical experts say the stress of extradition alone could kill him, or he might well take his own life. Yet, incredibly, the Government is doing nothing to protect Gary from extradition - despite the fact that he freely admits computer hacking and could easily be punished here for his crimes.
His legal appeals are virtually exhausted and he could be on a plane to the U.S. within weeks under the terms of a highly-controversial treaty which allows British citizens to be extradited on little or no evidence. For American citizens to be sent in the opposite direction, a detailed case must first be presented against them.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This is a case which raises some very serious questions. Not just about the U.S.-UK extradition treaty, but also about how we deal with someone who clearly has mental health problems. I am far from convinced that extradition is the right way forward and I think this case needs to be reviewed again to see whether he should be tried in this country and not the U.S.'
Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'It would be an insult to British justice if Gary McKinnon were sent to America for trial. His medical condition should surely justify a more compassionate approach.'
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