Those of us who follow international extraditions are quite familiar with the tale of Gary McKinnon. Mr. McKinnon, if you don’t know, is the British man charged in 2002 with hacking his way into government and military computers in the United States. He claims he was searching for proof of UFOs, which, let’s be honest, who isn’t?
In any event, despite being determined to be extraditable, and losing a number of appeals along the way, he appears to have received yet one more slight reprieve. According to PC World, the Home Secretary has received evidence that Mr. McKinnon has severe depression and Asperger’s syndrome, and as such, extradition would be harmful to his health. This argument has been made previously throughout all the hearings, along with the argument that there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t just be shipped off to Guantanamo. So, while this isn’t an unexpected development, it will be interesting to see how the Home Secretary rules on this case. If Mr. McKinnon is ordered to be extradited, he has 14 days to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
