Gary McKinnon saved from extradition after ten year fight

Gary McKinnon, the British hacker who has been fighting a high profile campaign for ten years to avoid extradition to the United States, has had his extradition blocked by the UK government.

Theresa May, the British Home Secretary, told MPs at the House of Commons that the extradition would be blocked for human rights reasons, as there are concerns that 46-year-old McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, would commit suicide if sent for trial in America.

Here’s part of what Theresa May told the House of Commons:

Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes. But there is also no doubt that he is seriously ill. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, and suffers from depressive illness. The legal question before me is now whether the extent of that illness is sufficient to preclude extradition.

After careful consideration of all of the relevant material, I have concluded that Mr McKinnon’s extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.