"I feel let down by my country," said the man accused of the
biggest military hack in history,
Gary McKinnon.
Hear the full interview with McKinnon on the podcast.
The self-confessed hacker today lost his appeal in Britain's
highest court against extradition to the United States where, if
convicted, he could be sentenced to spend the next 60 years in
jail.
McKinnon told Computer Weekly he would now ask the European
Court of Human Rights to consider his case on two grounds - first,
that the original plea bargain that US officials offered was an
abuse of the extradition process and threatening behaviour, and
second, that he might be tried by a military tribunal rather than a
court.
"We've got a letter from the States that says basically that if
he (McKinnon) doesn't accept the deal, we'll treat him as a
terrorist," said
McKinnon.
"I stand a better chance in Europe than I do in my own country,
perversely."
McKinnon said the Home Office had granted him 14 days' grace to
receive an answer from Strasbourg.