British 'hacker' fears Guantanamo (BBC)

[Up2Late]

(Why is he worried? I think we all know the answer to that question.)

Wednesday, 12 April 2006, 22:20 GMT 23:20 UK

British 'hacker' fears Guantanamo

A British man accused of being behind the largest ever hack of US government computer networks could end up at Guantanamo Bay, his lawyer has claimed.

Gary McKinnon, from London, denies causing $700,000 (£400,000) damage to military and Nasa systems in 2001-2. Bow Street Magistrates' Court was told the 40-year-old feared a prosecution might take place under US anti-terror laws if it agreed to his extradition.

The US said Mr McKinnon had assurances he would be tried in a federal court. But defence lawyers said his human rights could be breached if he was sent to the US....

(clip)

...Mr McKinnon is accused of hacking into computers in 14 states, including at the Pentagon and naval weapon station Earle. At an earlier hearing his lawyers suggested his actions were not malicious - he had been trying to expose lax computer security and access what he believed was withheld information about UFOs.

(more and additional links at link below)

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4905036.stm>

[Deja Q]

1. What if it was the other way around?

US person breaking into a UK bank?

Extradite the guy. He broke US law. Not UK law.

Still, this case really puts a bigger slap againt the US and its slant on human abuse issues. :( Even China has had legitimate things to say :hurts:

[Up2Late]

6. I'm not implying he shouldn't get a fair trial in a U.S. Federal Court...

...but I think his fear is that he will NOT get a trial, but rather, just sent to be warehoused in GTMO for who knows how long. Similar to the way they've done it in China to dozens of Tibetan Monks.

[Kutjara]

8. Normally, I'd agree with you.

In the days when we had a justice system based on principles of due process, I would have had no problem at all with his extradition. He'd be brought over, tried on the evidence, would probably be convicted (after all, he's admitted the crime) and spend a bit of time in Club Fed.

Now? He may be taken straight to Gitmo. He may not get a trial for years, if ever. The evidence against him may be deemed "too sensitive" to reveal. He may be convicted and sentenced on no more than the say-so of the prosecution. In short, I'm no more in favor of him being extradited here than I would be if it was Iran that wanted him.

I wish the UK Government had some spine. McKinnon broke several major UK laws as well, any one of which would be sufficient to send him to the Big House for a few years. Using the communications infrastructure to commit criminal acts is a crime in the UK too.

[Kutjara]

2. When is terror not terror?

When it's used as an excuse to impose draconian punishments for misdemeanors.

News.com is reporting that Gary McKinnon, the British hacker who broke into NASA computers back in 2002, faces incarceration in Gitmo and up to 60 years in jail if he is extradited to the US and convicted.

While McKinnon may be a bit of a sad case (by his own admission), he maintains that he was searching the NASA machines for evidence they'd covered up the existence of extraterrestrial life. Clearly, this is the kind of guy the 'War on Terror' is meant to stop.

This looks to me like a classic example of scapegoating. "We can't catch Osama, we can't pacify Iraq, Afghanistan is a mess. What can we do? I know, come down like a ton of bricks on some geeks who want to contact ET."

Here's the link to the story: http://news.com.com/Alleged+NASA+hacker+to+hear+fate+next+month/2100-7349_3-6060524.html?tag=nefd.top

Quite apart from the merits of this case, it is a clear example of the extention of powers created to combat terrorists into the ordinary criminal justice sphere. How long will it be before every offence is reclassified as terrorism? Kid puts a cherrybomb down a high school toilet? He's a terrorist. Take part in a mass demonstration? Terrorist conspiracy. Post anti-government information on political forums? Incitement to terror.

In a few years, when it becomes obvious to even the most purblind freeper that we are living in a fascist state, we can point to this case as one of the early warning signs.

As ol' Ben said "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither."

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[madeline_con]

5. Has anything been proven?

IOW, what the guy SAYS he was looking for and what he may actually have been doing could be two different things.

Lots of people tell stupid stories to defend themselves when their ass is in the sling.

[Up2Late]

7. Exactly, well said.

BTW, you might want to call that Cnet site something other than News.com in the future to avoid the confusion with the other news.com <http://www.news.com.au/> that most would rather not give the time of day too (Rupert Murdock's site).

[Kutjara]

9. Thanks for that Up2

I didn't realise there was a similarly named site in Oz. I wouldn't ever want to be accused of repeating anything uttered by a Murdoch organ.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Soon all of Bush's critics will be sent to a concentration camp

near their homes. Guantanamo is only one of the many camps in Bush's growing gulag.

[superconnected]

10. I don't blame him. The US may decide he is a terrorist

and homeland security may take over his case.

The administration HAS locked up hundreds and fought them having trials, and supported torture. They have LIED, too.

He has every reason to be afraid.

[TexasLawyer]

11. Election Fraud

Well, I see that our secret super-secure military computers are hackable-- so thank goodness our electronic voting systems are 100% invulnerable.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:



"The US Government wants to extract some kind of species of administrative revenge because he exposed their security systems as weak and helpless as they were."

Edmund Lawson
Defence lawyer