astrid
26th May 2011, 00:44
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390961/President-Obama-refuses-halt-Gary-McKinnons-extradition.html
"Gary McKinnon’s hopes of avoiding extradition to the U.S. suffered a severe setback yesterday when Barack Obama declined to allow him to be tried in Britain.
Campaigners had hoped the President would halt the legal proceedings because of the Asperger’s sufferer’s precarious mental state.
But Mr Obama – despite previously saying he wanted to find an ‘appropriate solution’ to end the computer hacker’s ordeal – effectively endorsed the extradition process."
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/25/article-0-0C07832B00000578-924_468x390.jpg
Gary McKinnon, 43, with his mother Janis Sharp, 60. McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, hacked into Pentagon computers
"He said: ‘We have confidence in the British legal system coming to a just conclusion, and so we will await resolution and we will be respectful of that process.’
Over the past decade, the British courts have repeatedly refused to block 45-year-old Mr McKinnon’s extradition, despite doctors saying he will kill himself if bundled on to a plane to the U.S.
Judges have themselves agreed he is a suicide risk but – under the controversial Extradition Act, which is biased in favour of the U.S. – this is considered insufficient reason to halt proceedings.
David Cameron raised his plight in face-to-face talks with Mr Obama yesterday morning. The two leaders were then questioned during a joint press conference at which the extradition was one of only a handful of subjects raised, alongside Libya and the Middle East.
Campaigners say this shows the huge importance of the case, which has been the subject of the Daily Mail’s Affront to British Justice campaign.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: ‘If, as the President says, he will be “respectful” of our legal process, then he should be happy for Gary to be dealt with here in the UK.
‘If our Government seeks to honour the words of both Coalition partners in opposition, it will decide that Gary’s condition warrants halting this farcical extradition immediately, so that justice and compassion can be dispensed at home.’
Mr McKinnon’s case began almost a decade ago when he hacked into Nasa and other military computers from the bedroom of his North London flat, searching for evidence of ‘little green men’.
There are two ways of ending his ordeal. The first is for the U.S. to agree to allow him to be put on trial in the UK, where the crimes took place. The alternative is for the British courts or Home Secretary to rule that he cannot be extradited.
Under the 2003 Extradition Act, it is very hard for Britain to stop the proceedings. This placed the focus on the U.S. helping to find a way out of the legal mess during Mr Obama’s visit.
At a White House press conference last year, the President had raised the hopes of Mr McKinnon’s supporters by promising an ‘appropriate solution’. He said that, in dealing with the case, the U.S. would recognise Britain was an ‘ally that is unparalleled in terms of our co-operative relationship’.
Yesterday, however, this language was replaced with the simple statement that America would respect the rule of British law. President Obama said: ‘We have proceeded through all the processes required under our extradition agreements. It’s now in the hands of the British legal system.’
Mr Cameron said: ‘The case is in front of the Home Secretary (Theresa May), who has to consider reports about Gary’s health and his well-being and it is right that she does that in a proper and effectively quasi-judicial way.
‘I totally understand the anguish of his mother and family about this issue. We must follow the proper processes and make sure this case is dealt with in the proper way and I am sure that is the case.’
Mr McKinnon’s mother Janis Sharp tried to find some positives from Mr Obama’s words. She said: ‘I am happy because President Obama has confirmed that it is a UK decision and the United States will accept it and not contest it.
‘But we are tired and worn into the ground and really expected our family’s torment to be over this month. We so need an end to it.’
So far, the Americans have repeatedly refused to allow Mr McKinnon to be tried in the UK. Cables released by WikiLeaks revealed that the U.S. ambassador had rejected a personal plea from then prime minister Gordon Brown for him to be imprisoned in Britain.
The U.S. has taken an equally robust position with the Coalition.
This month U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the administration would ‘take all of the necessary steps’ to have Mr McKinnon extradited and ‘held accountable for the crimes that he committed’.
Mr McKinnon’s solicitor Karen Todner said: ‘I hope the British justice system does now support Gary and stop this misery that he and his family are going through.’
"Gary McKinnon’s hopes of avoiding extradition to the U.S. suffered a severe setback yesterday when Barack Obama declined to allow him to be tried in Britain.
Campaigners had hoped the President would halt the legal proceedings because of the Asperger’s sufferer’s precarious mental state.
But Mr Obama – despite previously saying he wanted to find an ‘appropriate solution’ to end the computer hacker’s ordeal – effectively endorsed the extradition process."
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/25/article-0-0C07832B00000578-924_468x390.jpg
Gary McKinnon, 43, with his mother Janis Sharp, 60. McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, hacked into Pentagon computers
"He said: ‘We have confidence in the British legal system coming to a just conclusion, and so we will await resolution and we will be respectful of that process.’
Over the past decade, the British courts have repeatedly refused to block 45-year-old Mr McKinnon’s extradition, despite doctors saying he will kill himself if bundled on to a plane to the U.S.
Judges have themselves agreed he is a suicide risk but – under the controversial Extradition Act, which is biased in favour of the U.S. – this is considered insufficient reason to halt proceedings.
David Cameron raised his plight in face-to-face talks with Mr Obama yesterday morning. The two leaders were then questioned during a joint press conference at which the extradition was one of only a handful of subjects raised, alongside Libya and the Middle East.
Campaigners say this shows the huge importance of the case, which has been the subject of the Daily Mail’s Affront to British Justice campaign.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: ‘If, as the President says, he will be “respectful” of our legal process, then he should be happy for Gary to be dealt with here in the UK.
‘If our Government seeks to honour the words of both Coalition partners in opposition, it will decide that Gary’s condition warrants halting this farcical extradition immediately, so that justice and compassion can be dispensed at home.’
Mr McKinnon’s case began almost a decade ago when he hacked into Nasa and other military computers from the bedroom of his North London flat, searching for evidence of ‘little green men’.
There are two ways of ending his ordeal. The first is for the U.S. to agree to allow him to be put on trial in the UK, where the crimes took place. The alternative is for the British courts or Home Secretary to rule that he cannot be extradited.
Under the 2003 Extradition Act, it is very hard for Britain to stop the proceedings. This placed the focus on the U.S. helping to find a way out of the legal mess during Mr Obama’s visit.
At a White House press conference last year, the President had raised the hopes of Mr McKinnon’s supporters by promising an ‘appropriate solution’. He said that, in dealing with the case, the U.S. would recognise Britain was an ‘ally that is unparalleled in terms of our co-operative relationship’.
Yesterday, however, this language was replaced with the simple statement that America would respect the rule of British law. President Obama said: ‘We have proceeded through all the processes required under our extradition agreements. It’s now in the hands of the British legal system.’
Mr Cameron said: ‘The case is in front of the Home Secretary (Theresa May), who has to consider reports about Gary’s health and his well-being and it is right that she does that in a proper and effectively quasi-judicial way.
‘I totally understand the anguish of his mother and family about this issue. We must follow the proper processes and make sure this case is dealt with in the proper way and I am sure that is the case.’
Mr McKinnon’s mother Janis Sharp tried to find some positives from Mr Obama’s words. She said: ‘I am happy because President Obama has confirmed that it is a UK decision and the United States will accept it and not contest it.
‘But we are tired and worn into the ground and really expected our family’s torment to be over this month. We so need an end to it.’
So far, the Americans have repeatedly refused to allow Mr McKinnon to be tried in the UK. Cables released by WikiLeaks revealed that the U.S. ambassador had rejected a personal plea from then prime minister Gordon Brown for him to be imprisoned in Britain.
The U.S. has taken an equally robust position with the Coalition.
This month U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the administration would ‘take all of the necessary steps’ to have Mr McKinnon extradited and ‘held accountable for the crimes that he committed’.
Mr McKinnon’s solicitor Karen Todner said: ‘I hope the British justice system does now support Gary and stop this misery that he and his family are going through.’