McKinnon wins judical review

 

Gallery

By Barry Collins

Posted on 23 Jan 2009 at 12:20

Gary McKinnon's fight to avoid extradition to the US has been given another boost, after winning permission from the High Court for a judicial review.

McKinnon has been fighting the Home Secretary's decision to extradite him to the US, after he admitted breaking into NASA computers in 2001.

His lawyers have argued that the Asperger's Syndrome sufferer was at risk of suicide if he was extradited.

The High Court ruled that argument "merits substantive consideration", and granted him leave to mount a fresh legal challenge.

"The judges have granted permission for a review of our claim that the Home Secretary has not sufficiently taken account of the effects of Asperger's, and particularly the effect it will have upon him if he were to be extradited," McKinnon's lawyer, Karen Todner, told reporters outside court, according to the BBC.

"It is the right decision. This case has been going on since 2002 and finally we have got the first right decision."

Asperger's sufferers often exhibit obsessive behaviour and social naivety, which McKinnon's lawyers have long offered as mitigation.

The US Government claims McKinnon's hacking cost them over £500,000, and he could face a jail sentence of up to 70 years if convicted.