Top counsel and human rights activists will support
self-confessed hackerGary McKinnonwhen he goes to the
House of Lords on Monday to fight his extradition to the
US.
David
Pannick, a specialist public and human rights QC who has argued
many times before the lords, is instructed by McKinnon's attorney,
Karen Todner. Human rights watchdog
Liberty is
also throwing its weight behind McKinnon.
Pannick previously represented intelligence whistleblower Peter
Wright in the
Spycatcher
case. More recently he acted for human rights watchdog Liberty,
arguing that detention of terrorism suspects without trial is
illegal. Opposing him will be the Crown Prosecution Service, which
is acting for the US government.
The US government accuses McKinnon of breaking into the computer
network at the Earle Naval Weapons Station, stealing computer
passwords, and shutting down the network in the immediate aftermath
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
A second indictment charges McKinnon with intentional damage to
a protected computer, with intrusions into 92 computer systems
belonging to the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Defense
and NASA.
McKinnon is also charged with hacking into two computers located
at the Pentagon and six private companies' networks. He is accused
of causing approximately £450,000 in damages to computers located
in 14 states.
"As a result of the intrusions into the US military networks,
McKinnon rendered the network for the military district of
Washington inoperable," a
US
Attorney statementsaid.
McKinnon admits entering US computer systems without
authorisation, but denies causing damage or non-operation of any of
them.
If convicted, McKinnon could face 60 years in a US jail.
Members of the former National High Tech Crime Unit arrested
McKinnon in 2002, three years after he began looking for evidence
of extra-terrestrial beings and technologies on US computers,
McKinnon told Computer Weekly.
British taxpayers will pay both the CPS's costs and much of
McKinnon's. The total so far is estimated to be close to
£900,000.
More on Gary McKinnon:
Interview: Lone hacker obsessed with UFOs
US seeks to make example of hacker who struck just after
9/11
For more, see:
Hacker Gary McKinnon - Computer Weekly Essential Guide
Photo: Copyright Ian Grant 2008